The Bulls are rebuilding, but this isn’t the old NBA rebuild anymore.
As the first week of the 2026-27 Chicago Bulls’ training camp winds down, there’s a different kind of buzz around the group - not the usual promise of a youth movement, but the sense that the franchise is finally leaning into what this roster actually is. That shift matters, because the league has changed the rules around how teams can tear it down and start over.
Back in May 2026, the NBA Board of Governors approved new “anti-tanking” rules designed to make the old rebuild blueprint far less appealing. For years, the standard move was simple: stockpile young players, lose a lot, hope the draft lottery does the heavy lifting. That playbook is now being pushed aside.
The response across the league has already started to show up in roster construction. Memphis brought in 32-year-old Jerami Grant.
Washington added 35-year-old Khris Middleton. And Chicago played its part too, helping Brooklyn land 31-year-old Julius Randle by taking center Nic Claxton off their hands.
For the Bulls, the offseason brought a pair of 33-year-olds in Norman Powell and Buddy Hield. That’s the new reality. Even with Caleb Wilson coming in as the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, this rebuild is not being built around a pile of kids and a deliberate march toward the bottom of the standings.
Instead, the Bulls are trying to keep the floor from collapsing. Powell and Hield give them shooting.
Josh Giddey gives them another serviceable veteran presence. And in the league’s new setup, that kind of mix is meant to keep a team away from the draft-pick relegation zone while still allowing a rebuild to take shape.
It may look strange at first glance to see a rebuilding team adding players north of 30 right out of the gate. But that’s the point: in 2026, rebuilding in the NBA no longer means building to tank.
In Other News...
Bulls Camp Is Already Changing How Fans Should See These Two Youngsters
The Bulls have wrapped up their first week of training camp, and the early returns have given the team a little more to work with when it comes to two young players trying to carve out roles. Head coach Tiago Splitter has pointed to noticeable growth across the roster, but second-year forward Noa Essengue has stood out for the kind of progress that can change how a prospect is viewed before the season even begins.
Essengues camp showing has looked different from his Summer League run, while Dailyn Swain is working through a bigger adjustment of his own as he settles into a lead-guard, distributor role. It is a meaningful shift for Swain after being used more as an ISO scorer at Texas, and the early stretch of camp suggests the Bulls are still sorting out just how quickly he can translate that change into real backcourt value. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Young Core Already Faces A Big Tiago Splitter Test
The Bulls are asking a young roster to grow up with some help from a veteran who has seen just about everything the league can throw at a player. Norman Powell brings 11 NBA seasons and a recent All-Star appearance to a group that is still sorting out its identity, and he has already signaled that he wants to be more than just a name in the locker room. For a team trying to build something sturdier around its younger pieces, that kind of voice matters.
Under Tiago Splitters new staff, the early message has been less about flash and more about structure, with Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue among the players adjusting to new roles and different expectations. Powells presence should help smooth that transition, but it also puts a spotlight on how quickly Chicagos young core can absorb those lessons and turn them into real on-court progress. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Have Better Uses For Pelicans Ties Than This Reunion
Bryson Grahams ties to New Orleans have already shown up once for the Bulls, with the Chicago executive helping bring in veteran shooter Buddy Hield, a player the Pelicans originally drafted. So when another former Pelicans connection surfaced this week, it was natural to wonder whether Chicago might have another angle to explore through that familiar pipeline.
Memphis waived Jordan Hawkins, the ex-Pelicans first-round pick, but the fit in Chicago does not appear likely. Hawkins was a prolific college shooter at UConn, yet he has not carried that success into the NBA, and the Bulls are looking for more immediate help than another reclamation project. For now, the more relevant takeaway is that Grahams New Orleans background can still be useful, just probably not in this particular case. [Read more 🡒]