No joking matter: Bulls should follow Wizards' rebuilding model

It’s time for the Bulls to play the game — and not only the 27 left on the regular-season schedule when the NBA reconvenes Wednesday after the All-Star break.

No, the Bulls really should start concentrating on the bottom 10 of the standings and begin losing at all costs. And that shouldn’t be merely a one-year philosophy for them, either.

The All-Star break was a nice breather, a moment for teams to reset and to embrace what’s important. What should be important for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is to make sure he puts the Bulls in the best situation possible for the draft lottery May 12.

Competitive integrity be damned.

The Bulls have the eighth-worst record in the NBA. They realistically could fall below the 76ers and Nets to get to the sixth-worst, but they are five games ahead of the fifth-worst Raptors right now, making that a long shot.

The Hornets, Jazz and Pelicans are pretty locked into the bottom four, and the Wizards — who planned to be awful for this season and next — have pulled it off magnificently with only nine victories.

In a copycat league, Karnisovas and the rest of the Bulls’ front office should take a close look at the Wizards’ plan. Whether Karnisovas wants to admit it or not, the next two draft classes are his only way out of the mess that he has created.

The Pistons and Rockets are two recent examples of franchises that tanked, drafted well and watched the on-court product improve, and it’s no secret to scouts from around the league what’s coming in the 2025 and 2026 draft classes.

As far as the 2025 class, just look at what Duke star Cooper Flagg has been doing lately. In his last 10 games, he’s averaging 23.1 points and has calmed concerns some scouts had about his three-point shot by shooting 21-for-46 (46%) from behind the arc.

He not only leads the Blue Devils in scoring, but he also tops them in rebounding (7.5 per game), assists (four), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.2).

And it’s not only Flagg’s skills that has the Wizards tanking for only a 14% to hit on the No. 1 pick in the lottery; it’s his makeup, too. In talking with scouts and NBA personnel who know Flagg, his approach to the game and doing whatever it takes to affect winning is off the charts.

Add in his 6-9 frame and the fact he is only 18, and a bad team can get a seismic game-changer quickly.

But there are three more reasons why the Wizards’ plan is genius: Duke commit Cameron Boozer, BYU commit A.J. Dybantsa and Kansas-bound Darryn Peterson. Each can be the No. 1 pick in 2026 and instantly turn a franchise around.

The scary thing is, there’s a strong debate about which one should be the top pick. The 6-9 Dybantsa is a freak athlete who can score from anywhere. The 6-9 Boozer (yes, son of former Bulls forward Carlos Boozer and twin of highly ranked Cayden) has NBA athleticism and a high basketball IQ.

Then there’s the 6-5 Peterson. All he has done this season is put on shows by scoring 33 points against the Boozer twins, then taking Dybantsa to class with a 32-point, 10-rebound showing.

So while the Wizards be a punchline for many this season, they might be laughing last in a couple of years.

Maybe Karnisovas can start laughing alongside them.