Norman Powell’s early run with the Bulls is starting to look less like a fit and more like a stopgap that’s already wearing thin.
Chicago brought in the 33-year-old because the logic was easy to see. He had just averaged 21.7 points last season, earned his first All-Star nod, and came in with a track record as a reliable floor-spacer. Powell hit 38.0 percent of his 7.1 3-point attempts per game last year with the Miami Heat, and he’d connected on 41.9 percent of his threes over the previous three seasons combined.
But through Nov. 5, the numbers tell a much rougher story. Powell is scoring 19.3 points per game, yet he’s shooting only 39.8 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from deep.
The bigger issue for Chicago is not just the efficiency drop. It’s how much Powell is taking over the offense while younger players get squeezed out.
Powell is second on the Bulls in field-goal attempts with 103 and second in shots per game at 12.4, trailing only Caleb Wilson in both categories. He’s also second in total minutes with 230, second in 3-point attempts with 55, and his 25.2 usage rate is second only to Wilson.
That’s a lot of offensive real estate for a veteran scorer on a team that should be prioritizing development.
The Bulls need to be giving Matas Buzelis room to grow into the kind of running mate Wilson needs. Instead, the 22-year-old has opened the season struggling, putting up 12.9 points per game while shooting 40.8 percent overall and just 27.0 percent from three.
Those issues are on Buzelis to sort out, but the process gets tougher when Powell is dominating possessions and taking the shots that should help define the young core.
Josh Giddey is in the same boat. The Aussie point guard hasn’t settled in while playing off the ball, and Chicago still needs to figure out exactly where he fits in the roster-construction puzzle. He could be on his way out of the Windy City soon too, but that’s a hard call to make while Powell’s usage keeps running so high.
Noa Essengue and Leonard Miller are dealing with the same reality, with their development slowed by Powell’s appetite for possessions.
For the Bulls, the ideal outcome is still to maximize Powell’s trade value. The plan has always been to turn him into assets, and the more he looks like a productive scorer to contending teams, the better.
But if this keeps going, Chicago may reach the point where moving him isn’t just about value. It becomes the cleaner basketball decision too.
In Other News...
Bulls Linked To A Defensive Guard With One Huge Top Pick Concern
The early buzz around the 2027 draft has already started to circle back to Chicago, and one name tied to the Bulls is Arkansas freshman guard Smith. Jonathan Wassermans latest mock has the 6-foot-2 prospect landing with the Bulls near the top of the board, which is enough to get attention given the franchises need to keep adding young talent with two-way upside. Smith arrived with a reputation built on strong high school production, and his first taste of college ball hinted at why evaluators are intrigued.
What makes him such a compelling fit is also what keeps the conversation from getting too far ahead of itself. Smith showed defensive strength and enough scoring pop to look like a real lottery-level prospect, but the next step is proving his decision-making and shooting can hold up against NBA pressure. For a Bulls team watching the draft landscape this far out, the appeal is obvious, even if the biggest question around him is still very much unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Already Face A Tough Call With Dailyn Swain And The Frontcourt
The Bulls are taking a measured approach with Dailyn Swain as the season opens, with head coach Tiago Splitter saying the No. 15 overall pick will be assigned to the G League. It is the kind of early developmental decision that can be easy to overlook in October, but for Chicago it speaks to how carefully the team wants to handle a young player who has had limited NBA minutes and is still working through the adjustment period.
Chicagos frontcourt picture adds another layer to the decision. Jalen Smith is dealing with a wrist injury, though there is optimism he could be back soon, and the Bulls are also waiting on Nic Claxton to return and help stabilize the defense. For a team trying to balance immediate rotation needs with long-term growth, the timing of Swains assignment only sharpens the questions up front. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Have A Bigger Problem Than Their 1-7 Record
The early-season record is ugly enough, but the deeper concern around the Bulls is how completely they have been overwhelmed on both ends of the floor. Through the first stretch of the 2026-27 season, Chicago has struggled to score efficiently, has been leaky defensively and has not shown the kind of consistent effort that usually gives a young team a chance to survive rough patches.
There is still a long season ahead, and that is the one thing working in the Bulls favor. With a roster built around youth, the hope is that the group can stabilize as the schedule goes on, but right now the bigger issue is not just losing games - it is how historically lopsided those losses have been, and how much ground Chicago has already dug itself before the season has even settled in. [Read more 🡒]