The NBA injury train is showing no signs of slowing down as Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson will undergo surgery for a fractured right hand and miss four to six weeks of action, according to ESPN.
Wilson, the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, was injured in Wednesday night's loss to the Spurs. He was off to a great start for the otherwise struggling Bulls, who are now 1-9. He's an electric watch as a 6-foot-9, gliding athlete with every tool in the kit. He's averaging 18.9 points, 6.2 boards and nearly two steals a night so far. Before the injury, Wilson was listed at 15-1 to win Rookie of the Year, but within minutes of the news of his injury surfacing, those odds fell to 40-1 at FanDuel.
Before the injury, those were the fifth-best odds, which in most classes might not sound like a player having as good a start as Wilson, but this is an absolutely stacked rookie class with Yaxel Lendeborg being an actual All-Star candidate, Darius Acuff Jr. averaging over 26 points per game, Darryn Peterson averaging over 23 points in his last four and Cameron Boozer stuffing the stat sheet at 15.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists a night for a Grizzlies team on the rise.
Wilson is the future in Chicago, and in the long term, that's all that matters. They almost have to look to trade Norman Powell before the deadline, and Nic Claxton should join him on the way out. Powell's deal is particularly priced to be moved as next year's $22.5 million is a team option. That's a good number for a player of Powell's worth but could also be an expiring deal for a team looking to use him for a championship push and then reassess over the summer with no long-term commitment.
However that plays out, the next month and change is going to be even more brutal for Bulls fans than the first three weeks of the season have been now that Wilson, like so many other of the league's most exciting players, is headed for street clothes.
This news of Wilson's injury comes on the same day that the Warriors listed Stephen Curry out for at least the next two weeks with an oblique tear. From Anthony Edwards to Jalen Williams, Tyrese Haliburton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, Kawhi Leonard, Cason Wallace, Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Duren, Curry and beyond, this is a massive issue that the NBA, in some capacity, needs to take meaningful steps toward at least attempting to resolve.
Fans are paying way too much money not to watch the best players, and for the Bulls, Wilson was the main attraction for a team that will struggle to win games. Outside of diehards who are going to tune in no matter what, absolutely no casual fan has an interest in watching Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis on a 1-9 team. That's the harsh truth.
