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Grading the Caleb Wilson pick for the Bulls: What I like and don't like about UNC star's potential originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Bryson Graham was hired to take over the Bulls in large part because of an impressive scouting resume that led to hits with the Pelicans including Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Dyson Daniels, and Naji Marshall.
Those players all share common traits that Graham outlined when discussing his draft philosophy. He likes players with good size and athleticism. With the exception of Murphy, none of those guys were great college shooters either.
Graham doubled down on that philosophy in his first Bulls draft, taking Caleb Wilson at No. 4 and Dailyn Swain at No. 15. Neither is a particularly strong shooter, but both are toolsy forwards that fall into that same Pelicans draft (and undrafted free agent) pattern.
MORE: First round grades for all 30 picks
It's important to note that those Pelicans players improved their shooting while the team employed one of the best shooting coaches in the league in Fred Vinson. Nothing has been reported as of now on the Bulls having a shooting coach, let alone an elite one. That will be absolutely crucial for the future development of both players, along with last year's No. 12 pick Noa Essengue.
If neither Wilson nor Swain make progress as shooters, then the evaluation of these picks will change significantly. I will evaluate Swain at a later date. For now, here's what I think of Wilson.
NOH: Winners and losers from the first round
Grading the Bulls pick of Caleb Wilson
Wilson was the obvious pick at No. 4, and I'm with the consensus here. He isn't the type of prospect that I usually go for. He wins with raw power and athletic tools rather than high feel. But the talent is so overwhelming that taking anyone else with this selection would have been a major mistake.
Any evaluation of Wilson has to start with his dunks. They are delightful and frequent. Cooper Bowser, the winner of the Coolest Name in College Basketball Award, was the only Division-I player who averaged more dunks per game than Wilson. The sheer athleticism on display makes Wilson the easiest scout in this draft class.
The rest of Wilson's offense is more raw. I touched on his lack of shooting earlier. He took only 27 3's and made just 26 percent of them.
Most of Wilson's non-transition scoring came out of post ups, particularly on the left side of the floor. He relies too heavily on a mediocre turnaround jumper. He pairs that with spin moves, pump fakes, and an up-and-under move that is devastating when defenders bite on it. When he does decide to back guys down and try and power through them rather than going to the fadeaway, it is very hard to stop him without fouling him.
Wilson is going to be more limited as a shot creator than the three guys who went above him in the draft. He's not the type of player yet where you can feed him the ball on the perimeter and let him go to work. That was reflected in his isolation numbers, where he ranked in the 21st percentile of college players in terms of efficiency.
That's not the end of the world for a team in the Bulls that has a good floor general in Josh Giddey, but the Bulls did have issues with advantage creation in high leverage games and situations. That's not Giddey's particular strength either, and for now Wilson isn't solving that problem. Swain might, but we will save that for Part Two.
Wilson's defense is more of a mixed bag. He wasn't a great defender at North Carolina, particularly off the ball where he oftentimes missed rotations. That's not uncommon for players of his age, and that it is something which can be coached up.
It does put a ceiling on Wilson that he doesn't have better natural defensive instincts. It goes back to one of my favorite scouting quotes ever, from former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau: "If they don't bite as puppies, they usually don't bite as dogs."
I would predict that Wilson becomes a good defender but not an All-Defensive one. You can see the inconsistencies when you watch full games of him rather than highlight packages.
Wilson should become a good defender eventually because just as his tools show up in a big way on offense, they allow him to get some crazy blocks and steals on defense. He covers so much ground and can jump so high that even when he is behind a play, he can recover or fly from out of nowhere to swat shots. And he does seem to care on that end of the floor, showing genuine joy when his team gets big stops.
Wilson has a clear outline of an All-NBA player. It's just an outline for now though. There are very real ways in which he could fall short of those expectations, if his defensive habits never improve and if he never develops a reliable shot. The Bulls' player development system is going to determine how good he becomes. They have a lot of talent to work with.
Grade: A
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