Michael Porter Jr. Luka Doncic. DeAndre Ayton.

If you don’t know these names yet, the Bulls plan to help you get familiar. Even as incoming college freshmen — or, in the case of Doncic, a professional player overseas — they sit atop most 2018 mock drafts. Anyone got a 2019 mock draft?

Thursday’s blockbuster trade of Jimmy Butler to Tom Thibodeau’s Timberwolves isn’t just about landing three lottery picks in Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen. It’s a full-on rebuild, designed to produce high lottery picks for one, two — gulp — three (?) more seasons.

This just in: The Bulls are going to struggle to win games next season. On paper, they appear to be defensively challenged. They’re indisputably post-dynasty-era young. As currently constructed, nine of their 12 projected players own four years’ experience or less.

This will try fans’ patience while still hitting their pocketbooks hard.

“It’s not just about today,” Bulls executive John Paxson said in the wake of Thursday’s trade and draft. “We added three really talented young pieces to our team, and as we go forward we anticipate having other high draft picks. And you’ve seen teams turn it around through the draft. That’s going to be our job now.”

Make no mistake: This rebuild places full-blast pressure on the drafting ability of Paxson, general manager Gar Forman and their staff, and the developmental ability of coach Fred Hoiberg and his staff. With no Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler around and Dwyane Wade’s best days behind him, they all have to star.

The management duo’s talent-evaluation and roster-building abilities were two reasons cited by ownership when the Tribune reported in February that Paxson and Forman would be retained even if the Bulls missed the playoffs. Much of that trust is based on the last time Paxson and Forman completely overhauled the roster.

Taking over for Jerry Krause in April 2003, Paxson fired former teammate Bill Cartwright and installed Scott Skiles, his handpicked coach, seven months later. After limping through a 23-59 season with rookie Kirk Hinrich, Paxson’s first draft pick, the Bulls acquired four rookies in Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon and Andres Nocioni, who, along with Skiles, completely changed the culture. Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler were the only players from the team Paxson inherited who were on the one that overcame an 0-9 start and finished the 2004-05 season at 47-35, earning the franchise’s first playoff berth since the dynasty dismantling. That’s a lot of turnover for 24 months.

Those “Baby Bulls” teams never won championships, which should be and remains the standard for a franchise that has captured six. But they made three straight playoff appearances and featured a string of strong draft-day acquisitions in Hinrich, Gordon, Deng

and Duhon.

The management pair’s greatest success came from a lightning strike, overcoming 1.7 percent odds to win the 2008 draft lottery after the Bulls flamed out and Paxson fired Skiles in December 2007. Enter Rose, who won rookie of the year and became the youngest most valuable player in NBA history after his third season.

Paxson and Forman assembled a 62-20 team mostly via free agency. But other recent draft hits such as Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik played crucial roles for that Eastern Conference finalist that lost to the Heat.

Consistent draft hits are what this rebuild must receive to stay nourished. And after a string of underwhelming picks from Marquis Teague to Tony Snell to draft-day acquisition Doug McDermott,this is where the fans’ greatest skepticism is found. The jury remains out on Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine.

The best-case scenario for Paxson and Forman is that LaVine successfully rehabilitates from his torn left ACL, Dunn puts a blah rookie season behind him and Markkanen begins a string of impact lottery picks. The worst-case scenario is that Portis and Valentine go the way of McDermott and that Markkanen andfuture draft picks have so little impact that the time to add high-priced veterans never arrives.

In that case, President Michael Reinsdorf would have no choice but to make a move.

kcjohnson@chicagotribune.com