The Chicago Bulls were 0.1 percent away from scouting a generational prospect. Instead, the front office is now forced into determining which players could fit in the back of the lottery at pick No. 12. And based on a recent report, it's already going in the wrong direction with Egor Demin.
Demin is certainly an intriguing prospect who has unique positional size, vision and playmaking skills. But the Bulls have a slew of other needs and holes to fill on their roster, namely defense and rim protection, of which Demin provides neither.
Drafting the 19-year-old BYU product wouldn't help fill Chicago's massive defensive gaps. It would actually accomplish the opposite and give head coach Billy Donovan a duplicate of a player he already has.
Egor Demin is a Josh Giddey clone who makes little sense for the Bulls
If parts of this Demin scouting report courtesy of NBADraft.net sound familiar, well, that's because they are:
"Unique player with rare vision and passing, in a 6’9” frame ... Adequate athlete, fairly quick first step and decent speed … Decent instincts defensively. Gets his arms out in the passing lanes and seems to have natural instincts for deflections and steals ... a below average outside shooter at the guard position ... Neither confident nor fluid from distance ... "
A jumbo-sized, pass-first point guard with special feel and passing skills who struggles to shoot from distance and score efficiently? Well, that sure sounds a lot like the Bulls' current point guard, Josh Giddey.
Could Demin, Giddey and a scoring option like Coby White make for an intriguing trio at times? Sure. The combined size, IQ, vision and selflessness of the two floor generals could create novel looks for defenses. If Giddey's massive leap in shooting efficiency is real, then this idea has more potential.
That's apparently where the Bulls' gaze is drifting, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
But that idea raises several very real questions. Giddey is only three years older than Demin but has already started 279 NBA games.
Even if Giddey's 45.7 percent shooting from deep post-All-Star break isn't sustainable, he did shoot 37.8 percent on 4.0 triples per game last year. He also averaged a career-high 3.2 free throws in 2024-25—his previous high was 1.9—showing an offensive evolution that went beyond just 3-point shooting.
Yes, the Aussie is a restricted free agent this summer, and if the Bulls want to keep him, it'll cost some cash. But Chicago has all the leverage in negotiations, and the likelihood that Giddey gets the five-year, $150 million contract he wants is dwindling. The Bulls are also projected to have the most cap space in the league next offseason.
The argument for Demin is that he could be a cheaper version of Giddey with a higher ceiling if he reaches it. But Chicago has the current version of Giddey, who's still just 22 and is coming off by far his best season. It makes more sense to keep the proven player who's still developing than take a risk on a prospect who's never played an NBA game.