Monday afternoon at the United Center had the feel of a reset for the Chicago Bulls, and not a subtle one. Ownership had already chosen a complete overhaul only months after a season that made change feel unavoidable, even if history suggested Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley might have been given more runway.
Instead, Michael Reinsdorf stepped to the microphone and made the franchise’s direction clear: the Bulls are trying to get relevant again, and they’re doing it with a very different kind of leadership.
That starts with Bryson Graham, a name that doesn’t carry much public weight outside league circles. He arrives as vice president of basketball operations after just one year as the Atlanta Hawks’ second in command, following a long climb through the New Orleans Pelicans organization.
The Bulls also reportedly made him one of the youngest candidates they interviewed for the top job, and that age profile is part of the point. Youth is no longer just a talking point in Chicago - it’s becoming the identity.
The same theme showed up everywhere else on the board. Chicago grabbed Caleb Wilson with the No. 4 overall pick on draft night, and it brought in former big man Tiago Splitter to handle head coaching duties. The message is unmistakable: the Bulls are betting on fresh faces and a new timeline.
Now comes the harder part. Chicago has chosen young blood, and the organization has made that choice in public. The real test is whether it can live with everything that comes with it.
In Other News...
Josh Giddey Faces A Defining Bulls Fit Test This Season
Josh Giddey is heading into his third season with the Bulls with something bigger than a contract year or a box score check-in hanging over him. Chicagos front office and coaching staff are pushing a new offensive philosophy built around pace and ball movement, and that puts Giddey in the middle of a familiar modern NBA question: how much on-ball responsibility should a player keep when the system wants the ball moving faster and more often? For a team still trying to define its identity, his fit could be one of the clearest early signs of whether the approach is working.
The challenge for Giddey is less about talent than usage, and that is where the season gets interesting. Chicago does not need him to be the same kind of possession-starter on every trip if the offense is going to look the way the staff wants, which means the next step is finding the right balance between creating and complementing. If he can settle into that role cleanly, the Bulls may have a better answer for what their new offense is supposed to be. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Enter Camp With One Health Question Still Lingering
Training camp is opening with the Bulls still sorting out the health picture, and for most of the roster, the signs are encouraging. Around the league, several notable names have already offered upbeat updates, with Tyrese Haliburton saying he is fully healthy after his Achilles injury, Stephen Curry reporting no current limitations, Luka Doncic cleared after a hamstring strain and Bradley Beal working back from hip surgery while also managing knee inflammation.
For Chicago, the larger issue is less about the star power and more about how many bodies are ready to go once camp begins. Josh Giddey has no restrictions after offseason ankle surgery, which helps settle one question, but there is still at least one lingering concern in camp as the Bulls get set to start Tuesday. Of the teams health questions, this is the one that could matter most if it stretches into the preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Just Sent A Clear Message About This Rebuild
Bryson Grahams first notable move since joining the Bulls signaled exactly where Chicago wants this rebuild to go. Rather than treating every young name as a long-term keeper, the front office is clearly leaning into flexibility, reshaping the roster on the fly and keeping enough room to change course as the next phases of the rebuild come into focus.
Buddy Hield and cash assets now give Chicago a different kind of leverage, and the larger message is hard to miss: the Bulls are not locking themselves into a fixed timeline. With several players carrying team options next season, there is still plenty of room for more turnover, which means this is shaping up as a roster built for constant adjustment rather than quick commitments. [Read more 🡒]