Long-suffering Chicago Bulls fans might have felt a gnawing feeling during the NBA Draft Lottery.

While conspiracy theorists were busy concocting arguments for why the Dallas Mavericks, with only a 1.8 percent chance, landed the No. 1 pick and the opportunity to draft star Cooper Flagg, a different cloud hung over Chicago.

The Mavericks won the lottery Monday night only after winning the draft-order tiebreaker over the Bulls last month. A random drawing, performed by NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell at the league office in Secaucus, N.J., gave Dallas 0.1 percent chance more than Chicago to land the winning ping-pong ball numbers. That minuscule percentage made all the difference between the Bulls welcoming a generational talent and scouring the back end of the lottery for good value.

The Bulls own the 12th selection in the draft, remaining in their most likely landing spot. Chicago had only an 8 percent chance of moving into the top four selections. After finishing with an identical 39-43 regular-season record, Dallas had just an 8.5 percent chance of cracking the top four.

It’s the second time in seven years that a draft-order tiebreaker has delivered horrendous luck to the Bulls. In 2018, the Bulls won the draft-order tiebreaker over the Sacramento Kings. It put Chicago in the sixth position and Sacramento in seventh, but the Kings moved up to the No. 2 pick during that year’s lottery.

Kings fans still can’t believe they took Marvin Bagley III over Luka Dončić, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Trae Young. Meanwhile, the Bulls drafted Wendell Carter Jr. with the seventh selection.

The Bulls also won draft-order tiebreakers from 2021 to 2023. They drafted Dalen Terry 18th in 2022, but their first-round selections in 2021 and 2023 conveyed to the Orlando Magic as compensation for the Nikola Vučević trade.

“I have full confidence in our staff regardless of where we’re picking,” Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas said at his season-ending news conference. “I think we can always find value.”

This year’s Bulls first-round draft pick took a pit stop with the San Antonio Spurs. Chicago traded the pick as part of a package to acquire DeMar DeRozan in 2021. The Bulls then recouped the pick in this year’s three-team trade that sent Zach LaVine to the Kings and De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs.

Now, the Bulls are banking on adding another quality player to a core that consists of Coby White, Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, Lonzo Ball, Matas Buzelis, Patrick Williams and Vučević. It’s a suddenly revamped roster that sorely needs a star after the Bulls traded DeRozan to the Kings last summer. But with minimal draft capital and salary-cap space and few trade chips, the Bulls are emphasizing internal development. They still believe they can develop a star from within.

“We’re always going to be looking at how to improve this roster by adding a high-caliber player,” Karnišovas said. “At the same time, I would not put any limitations on this roster or on the way Coby’s been playing or the way Josh has been playing. Those players have a chance of playing at a very high level.”

White, 25, emerged as the team’s leading scorer this season following LaVine’s in-season trade. White averaged a career-high 20.4 points. Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists in 19 games after the All-Star break.

“There’s a lot to like about this young roster,” Karnišovas said. “They showed it the second half of the season. We’re going to try to add pieces and get better for next year.”

Buzelis, the 11th pick in last year’s draft, represents the value Chicago looks to find with the 12th pick. Buzelis got better as the season went on and averaged 13 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27 games after the All-Star break.

“Watching what Matas has done and his progression through the year, that gives you hope,” Karnišovas said.

Vučević is a candidate to be traded this summer, which could prompt the Bulls to search for size in the draft. Big men who project to be available at No. 12 include 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach out of Duke, 6-10 Thomas Sorber out of Georgetown and 7-foot Danny Wolf out of Michigan.

The Bulls also need an influx of defenders, regardless of position. Dosunmu and Ball are their most reliable defenders, while Williams is the team’s best option against big wing scorers.

“Obviously this group knows that expectations are going to be higher next year,” Karnišovas said, “and I think they’re going to be ready for it.”