The Chicago Bulls were in the Jonathan Kuminga chase after all, but they couldn’t close the deal.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday evening that Chicago made an offer to the free-agent forward, only for Kuminga to land with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-way, $13.0 million deal. The second season comes with a player option. Charania also noted that the Lakers put similar money on the table over three years.
For a while, Kuminga looked headed elsewhere anyway. The Lakers and Timberwolves had been viewed as the clear favorites in recent weeks, and after Bennedict Mathurin reportedly agreed to join the New Orleans Pelicans, Jake Fischer said the Bulls had emerged as a third team in the mix. By Wednesday, that picture had sharpened: Chicago was real, but not enough.
The Bulls were reportedly joined by the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers in trying to land Kuminga. That makes the whole thing a little surprising, especially given how little recent buzz connected Chicago to the former Warriors lottery pick.
Under the previous regime, the Bulls had been linked to him more often, but those mentions faded over the past few months. Still, with a rebuild underway and one open roster spot available, Chicago clearly entertained the idea.
There’s at least a logical basketball case for it. The Bulls need on-ball scoring, and they’ve long shown a preference for long, athletic wings. Kuminga checks those boxes in the sense that he can get out in transition and apply real pressure at the rim.
There’s also a front-office angle here. Bryson Graham acquired Kuminga while with the Atlanta Hawks just a few months ago, working alongside front office leader Onsi Saleh. The Hawks added him at the deadline for their postseason push in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, so Graham clearly sees something he likes in the player.
But the fit in Chicago was never especially clean. Kuminga and Matas Buzelis, along with Caleb Wilson, would have created questions about spacing, and Kuminga has not shown he can be a reliable floor-spacer. He’s also at his best with the ball in his hands, which makes him a tricky fit for a team trying to develop two other forwards.
The price point tells part of the story too. Kuminga ended up on what looks like a very manageable deal, but the Bulls apparently weren’t willing to go as far as the Lakers. That suggests Chicago was active, but still operating within a strict line it wouldn’t cross.
That restraint fits the broader picture. The Bulls were also connected to Bennedict Mathurin, and neither player seems like an obvious match for a rebuild that’s trying to sort out its long-term core.
Even so, Chicago had the ability to get something done. It just chose not to meet the market in the way other teams did.
That’s probably the biggest takeaway here: Bryson Graham is not going to spend just to spend. The Bulls have already handed team options to Norman Powell and Zach Collins, their only two true free-agent signings, and this pursuit fits the same pattern.
Flexible. Controlled.
Careful.
Whether that caution leads to another move is the next question. Graham still has a roster spot to work with, and if he missed on Kuminga or Mathurin, he could pivot in another direction. That might mean a free agent, or it might mean exploring ways to take on dead money if the price is right.
The Pelicans, for example, have reportedly been looking to move off Jordan Hawkins for some time, and he fits in the Bulls’ room exception. With Mathurin now in the fold, there could be even more motivation for New Orleans to attach an incentive. Graham, at least for now, sounds ready to keep listening.
In Other News...
Josh Giddey Just Became The Bulls' Most Complicated Fit
Josh Giddey gave the Bulls exactly the kind of production that can make a front office believe it has found a centerpiece. In his first season in Chicago, he put up 17.0 points and 9.1 assists per game while also improving his three-point shooting after the move, showing a more complete version of the playmaker the team bet on. For a club that has been searching for order and structure in its offense, that kind of growth matters.
The trick now is that Chicagos roster is changing around him. With a starting group that features young pieces like Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson, plus Norman Powell and Nic Claxton, the Bulls are building a setup that does not necessarily need Giddey to initiate everything, and his fit becomes more complicated as the offense evolves. His defensive and offensive numbers suggest there are still real questions to answer, which is why the next stretch will say a lot about how flexible Giddey can be in a role that may ask for less of the ball and more of everything else. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Still Have A Chance To Turn These Misses Into A Win
The Bulls did not land two of the more intriguing free agents on the board in Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga, but that does not mean the weekend passes without a possible payoff. Chicago has been operating with a clear eye on roster and financial flexibility under executive Bryson Graham, and sometimes the value in those moves shows up later, not in the first wave of signings.
New Orleans and Minnesota each committed to the players Chicago missed out on, but those decisions also added to the cap juggling those teams will have to manage down the line. If the Bulls decide to keep pressing their advantage, the opening may come not through a headline signing, but through a trade market shaped by other clubs needing to clear room and reshape their books. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls May Have Avoided A Move Fans Would Already Regret
With an open roster spot and the mid-level exception still available, the Bulls had a real chance to get involved when Bennedict Mathurin hit the market. Chicago passed, weighing whether his game would mesh with what the roster needs right now, and the hesitation was rooted in more than just price. The front office was looking at how his offensive profile would fit alongside the pieces already in place.
Mathurins new deal with the New Orleans Pelicans closes the door on that possibility, and it also gives some context to why the Bulls stayed away. His shooting has been a concern, and his score-first style did not line up neatly with Chicagos current priorities. For a team that still has flexibility to make a move, the decision to hold back says plenty about how carefully it is trying to use that flexibility. [Read more 🡒]