The Chicago Bulls have not done enough yet to climb out of the NBA’s lower front-office tier, at least in this snapshot of the 2026 offseason.
With the league’s major moves largely in the books and media day season closing in, the Bulls are being sized up against the rest of the league in a three-tier breakdown: A, B and C. Right now, Bryson Graham’s front office lands in the C group, alongside teams that either haven’t pushed far enough or have already made enough choices to be stuck there.
The standard for the top tier is high. The New York Knicks front office, led by Leon Rose, sits there after a methodical rebuild built around Jalen Brunson delivered the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973.
The San Antonio Spurs also made the cut after Brian Wright guided them to a runner-up finish in the 2026 NBA Finals, even though the team had not been back to the playoffs since the 2018-19 season. Mike Gansey’s Philadelphia 76ers earned A-tier status after landing both Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the same offseason.
That group also includes the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies, with Onsi Saleh, Jeff Peterson and Zach Kleiman getting credit for steering their teams away from the point guards of the past and toward new centerpieces in Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel and Cameron Boozer. Sam Presti, Brad Stevens, Tim Connelly and Rafael Stone round out the top shelf.
The Bulls are not there. The criticism is straightforward: Graham has yet to use the team’s flexibility and short-term contracts to bring in a long-term piece who fits with Caleb Wilson, or show the kind of draft-capital creativity that would change the conversation.
Chicago is not alone in the C tier. The Detroit Pistons are there too, with concerns that their title window may never fully open after a cautious 2026 NBA trade deadline and the possibility that Jalen Duren could choose to play the 2026-27 season on his restricted free agency qualifying offer.
The rest of the C group includes the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans. At the far end of the tier, the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets drew especially harsh treatment, with the Warriors accused of wasting Steph Curry’s final years, the Nuggets of wasting Nikola Jokic’s prime and the Nets of staying too conservative with assets while the Knicks celebrate a title.
In Other News...
Bulls Still Have One Quiet Roster Decision Left Before Camp
The Bulls have spent the offseason building out the top of the roster, adding Caleb Wilson, Dailyn Swain, Norman Powell and Nic Claxton as they try to make camp a more competitive setting from the start. With the main group taking shape, the front office still has some housekeeping left to do, and the next small decision on the docket is a familiar one: filling out the end of the roster with a two-way player who can develop without taking up a standard spot.
Chicago already has two players on two-way deals in Jaylin Sellers and Tobe Awaka, and it is expected to bring in competition for a third such opening before training camp. The pool of candidates still includes a mix of free agents and internal options, so this one feels less like a splash and more like the final layer of roster planning, the kind of move that can quietly shape how deep the organization feels once camp gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Wilson Hype Is Building But Bulls Fans Need To See This First
Caleb Wilsons offseason has already given Bulls fans plenty to latch onto. The No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA draft recently posted a photo of himself working out with LeBron James Sr., a notable image even if these kinds of runs happen often enough for young players who move in the same pro circles. For Chicago, it is another reminder of how much buzz has formed around a prospect the franchise is hoping can become a difference-maker.
Still, the real story with Wilson is not who he shares a gym with in the summer. The Bulls are going to learn far more about him once the NBA season starts and the games count for something, because his long-term value will come from his own development, production and consistency on the floor. The hype is easy to understand for now, but the next step has to come in uniform, not just in workout photos. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Rebuild Optimism Just Ran Into A Brutal Reality Check
The Bulls have spent the offseason trying to reset the direction of the franchise, bringing in Bryson Graham as executive vice president of basketball operations and Tiago Splitter as head coach. It is a clear bet on rebuilding and player development, and it also comes with the kind of roster flexibility and draft capital that can make a long-view plan look more promising than the day-to-day product.
ESPNs latest NBA Future Power Rankings, though, were a reminder that optimism does not always move at the same pace as perception. Chicago landed near the bottom of the league in the evaluation, a sign that the league still wants to see real progress before buying into the new structure, even with the Bulls positioned to have a better hand than theyve had in years. [Read more 🡒]