The Chicago Bulls are about to open training camp with a brand-new voice in charge, and Tiago Splitter’s first major challenge is obvious: figure out who actually belongs in the rotation.
That’s not a small task on a roster headed into a rebuild. Chicago has plenty of young players, plenty of questions, and not nearly enough clear-cut answers.
Some minutes will go to development. Some will go to players who have already shown they can handle NBA speed.
And some names are going to be squeezed out before October is over.
Three players, in particular, look like they’ll be fighting uphill from the start.
Rob Dillingham enters camp with the most familiar kind of problem for a young guard: the talent is there, but the trust isn’t.
After arriving at the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline, he had trouble convincing Billy Donovan that he deserved steady run. Injuries eventually opened the door, but Dillingham didn’t exactly slam it shut.
He was a benchwarmer in Minnesota and often looked uncomfortable once he got on the floor, and that carried over in Chicago. Too often, he played at one speed and it was too fast, which led to turnovers and rushed attempts at the rim.
There’s a path here, though it’s not a clean one. The Bulls’ roster competition is thinner now, and the organization’s approach has changed enough that Dillingham could get more of the developmental runway he needs. Still, it’s fair to wonder how much Bryson Graham or Tiago Splitter truly sees him as part of the long-term picture.
At 21, he’s still young, but he doesn’t fit every part of the profile this front office seems to prefer. He doesn’t bring the size, strength or length that can help cover up mistakes.
The speed and handle are interesting. The question is whether that’s enough for Chicago to hand him a real backup role.
His scoring has to be better, too. At Kentucky, Dillingham looked like a polished three-level scorer.
In the NBA, the shot has been shaky from deep and he hasn’t held up well around the basket. More reps could help, but he’ll need to earn the staff’s confidence before those reps come his way.
The backcourt matters a lot for what Chicago wants to build this season. Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson are central to that growth, and Josh Giddey and Tre Jones give the Bulls two pass-first options. There may be some room at shooting guard, but Isaac Okoro could be the first choice there because of what he brings defensively on the ball.
So Dillingham isn’t buried, but he’s also nowhere near safe.
Patrick Williams is in a different kind of spot, one that says plenty about how much has changed in Chicago.
The old front office was never going to fully give up on the former No. 4 overall pick, especially after committing $90 million guaranteed over five seasons. Even when Billy Donovan benched him, Williams never really felt like someone who would disappear entirely from the plan.
That leash may be gone now.
Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter didn’t draft him and didn’t hand him that contract. They also brought in a No. 4 overall pick of their own in Caleb Wilson, who is going to take a direct bite out of Williams’ minutes. On top of that, Leonard Miller outplayed Williams late last season and had his option picked up by the new regime.
Williams is still only 25, and there’s at least a version of this story where he settles into a useful role. He has the physical tools to defend, and his three-point shooting has been better than many expected when he entered the league. A decent 3-and-D outcome is still on the table.
But Chicago is no longer in wait-and-see mode with him. If he wants real minutes, he’ll have to show it in practice and make the most of whatever chances come early in the year.
Noa Essengue might be the biggest mystery of all.
The former No. 12 overall pick appeared in only two games as a rookie while rehabbing from shoulder surgery, and he got cleared in time for Summer League. He went to Las Vegas and played there for the second straight year, but the results were rough.
Tiago Splitter even benched him at one point, apparently hoping the move would spark something. Instead, Essengue’s play got worse. He struggled to stay upright and looked lost on offense.
That doesn’t erase the long-term appeal. He was always viewed as a project, one of the rawest players in his draft class, and the upside is still there. He’s only 19, and coming off a major injury, he deserves more than a Summer League look before anyone starts drawing hard conclusions.
Even so, the road to a role in 2026-27 looks crowded. The Bulls have plenty of long, athletic wings who already do many of the things Essengue does, only better right now. He may get some game action for evaluation purposes, but forcing him into the fire too soon could do more harm than good.
For Chicago, the preseason won’t just be about finding rhythm. It’ll be about sorting out which young players are ready, which ones need patience, and which ones may be left on the outside looking in.
In Other News...
Bulls Keep Reshaping Bryson Grahams Front Office Before Year 1
The Bulls are still building out Bryson Grahams basketball operations group before his first season in charge even begins. Chicago announced another round of staff updates, with the front office continuing to take shape under the new lead executive after already making major moves by adding Acie Law IV and Stephen Mervis to prominent roles.
Brian Hagan has been elevated to Senior Vice President of Player Personnel, and the Bulls also filled out more of the organizations support structure with Alex Kaufman, Dionne Calhoun, Jarrett Sutton, Justin Irwin and Noah Fox joining in different capacities. The latest changes show how much of the day-to-day infrastructure around Graham is still being assembled, with the G League side and the medical and scouting areas all getting attention as the Bulls put the finishing touches on the staff. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Starting Lineup Could Finally Reveal Chicagos Real Direction
The Bulls are still trying to sort out what the next version of the roster is supposed to look like, but the projected 2026-27 starting five offers a clearer hint than most of the recent chatter. Josh Giddey and Norman Powell give the group a steady backcourt presence, while Matas Buzelis is expected to keep growing into a bigger offensive role. The shape of that lineup suggests Chicago is no longer just patching holes from one season to the next, but trying to build something more coherent around young talent and a few established pieces.
Caleb Wilson is part of that picture too, giving the front office another high-upside piece to develop as the rebuild takes hold. Tiago Splitter is stepping in on the bench, and his arrival adds another layer to a transition that has been moving in this direction for a while. The unanswered question is how quickly all of those parts can fit together into a team that looks less like an experiment and more like a direction. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Move On From Keon Johnson And Raise An Immediate Question
Keon Johnsons stay with the Hawks was short-lived, with Atlanta waiving the former first-round pick soon after bringing him in on an Exhibit 10 contract. It leaves him back on the market at a time when a few teams with room to keep looking for back-end roster help could at least take a hard look, and the conversation around him has quickly shifted to which clubs might be willing to give him another chance.
Among the teams mentioned as possible fits are the Nuggets, the Bulls and the Trail Blazers, though nothing has been confirmed by any of them. For Chicago, the interest is more about roster context than anything else, as the front office continues to sort through training camp options and evaluate whether another camp body makes sense in a group that is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]