The Chicago Bulls’ decision to unload their 2026 NBA Draft second-round picks for effectively cash looks even stranger after what Meleek Thomas has done in summer league.
Thomas, the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie taken 34th overall, has been on a tear. He’s averaged 27.3 points per game while shooting 43.8% on 8.0 three-point attempts per game, and he’s added 2.0 steals per game with the kind of energy that shows up every night. He also put that production directly in front of the Bulls on Friday, scoring 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting in Cleveland’s 100-91 win.
That’s where the Bulls’ draft-night choices start to sting. Chicago’s first second-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft sat at No. 38, so getting Thomas would have required some movement.
But the Bulls had more than enough capital to make it happen. They held two second-round picks in that draft, plus seven extra future second-round picks on top of their own future second-rounders.
Instead, they passed on the entire second-round board.
Bryson Graham, the Bulls’ lead front office executive, has already offered a public explanation for the decision, and that response made clear the team did not see Thomas as a target. That’s a hard stance to square with the way Thomas has looked since then.
At Arkansas, Thomas played one season and averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting 41.6% from 3-point range on 5.3 attempts per game. He also averaged 1.5 steals per game for the Razorbacks. The jump to NBA summer league hasn’t slowed him down at all.
For a Bulls team that needs shooting, Thomas would have fit the bill. If Chicago is serious about rebuilding from the ground up, passing on a 19-year-old, 6-foot-5 guard producing like this is the kind of opportunity cost that can come back to haunt a front office.
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