It's been about 3 weeks since the Bulls landed Caleb Wilson at No. 4 out of North Carolina, and the guy has already turned Summer League in Vegas into his own personal highlight reel. This isn't a slow-burn prospect watch situation. Wilson dropped 35 points in his debut, an unofficial Summer League debut record, shooting 7-of-11 from three on a guy who shot 26% from deep in his one year at UNC. That alone should've been the headline of the summer. Instead, he just kept going.
Wednesday night against Utah, Wilson was at it again, and Barstool Chicago's account was not being subtle about it.
The reaction to Wilson's latest highlight-reel play in the Bulls' Summer League matchup with Utah.
"Caught a body" is the kind of phrase you use for a dunk that ends a defender's week, and the fact that it's becoming a recurring theme with this kid is the point. The Bulls have gone through a rough stretch of high picks who never quite popped the way the front office promised. Wilson, 3 weeks into his pro life, is already making that history feel very far away.
Naturally, the vibe has shifted from "is this guy good" to "please stop playing him." That's the joke, but it's also not entirely a joke — Summer League is a proving ground for guys fighting for a roster spot, not a stage a franchise cornerstone needs once he's already shown enough. Stoolgambling put it bluntly.
The tongue-in-cheek case for shutting Wilson down before he gets to opening night.
Is anyone actually worried the Bulls are going to run Wilson into the ground in exhibition games in July? No. But the sentiment tracks with how the league treats its top picks these days — load management starts before the regular season even tips off, and a $48.5 million rookie deal (his projected 4-year deal as the No. 4 pick, per reporting around the draft) is exactly the kind of investment a front office protects. Wilson also missed the back half of his lone UNC season with a hand injury, so the caution isn't coming from nowhere.
By Tuesday afternoon, the bit had fully taken over the timeline, with Barstool Chicago sending a warning shot to the rest of the league.
A photo-backed reminder that contesting Wilson at the rim hasn't been going well for anybody.
None of this settles anything about who Wilson actually becomes once real minutes and real defenses show up in October. Summer League hype has fooled plenty of fanbases before. But between the record-breaking debut, the block/dunk highlights piling up against Utah, and a Bulls front office that finally has a genuine building block to sell, there's a real argument the smart move is to shut it down and let the kid show up healthy for training camp. Chicago hasn't had a pick feel like this since Derrick Rose. Don't overthink July.