The Chicago Bulls may not be expected to swing big this summer, but they’re not completely done making noise.
That’s the tension hanging over a front office that’s clearly leaning into patience. Bryson Graham, now leading the operation, has made his approach plain enough: this is about building slowly, not forcing the issue. The focus is on young pieces such as Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis, while the early offseason additions of Norman Powell and Nic Claxton fit more as stabilizers than headline-grabbers.
Still, the Bulls have left themselves room to maneuver. They have one open roster spot, and that matters.
It could stay open into the regular season as a way to absorb unwanted salary and collect future assets. But it also leaves the door cracked for something more interesting if the right player becomes available.
That’s where the restricted free agent market comes in.
Bennedict Mathurin has been the name drawing the most attention around the Bulls, and Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported this week that his representation has stayed in touch with Chicago, along with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Clippers remain in the mix as well, even after signing Bradley Beal to a two-year deal last week. Beal’s arrival doesn’t automatically shut the door on Mathurin, though the overlap in role and their similar score-first style makes the fit a little crowded.
Peyton Watson is the other name worth watching, even if the connection feels more speculative. The Denver Nuggets wing is reportedly seeking a deal worth $100+ million, and elsewhere in the reporting it’s noted that he is still hoping to land $125+ million over five years. That’s a steep ask for a Bulls team early in its rebuild, which explains why there have been essentially no real links between the two sides.
But the market can change fast. If Watson’s price keeps sliding as the summer goes on, a Bulls pursuit becomes easier to imagine.
And if there’s one thing Graham has already introduced to this roster conversation, it’s flexibility. Watson also fits the SLAP model Graham introduced to fans this offseason.
The bigger point is not that Chicago is likely to land Mathurin or Watson. It probably isn’t.
The smarter bet is that the Bulls are still a year or two away from making this kind of aggressive move. But the fact that Mathurin’s camp is still in contact with the team says something about how this front office is operating.
That alone is a shift. Under the last six years of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, the Bulls too often looked closed off, content to sit still and act like they had already solved the puzzle.
Graham’s group hasn’t given off that same energy. They look more willing to keep options alive and see where the market bends.
So while a major RFA splash remains a long shot, Chicago has at least kept the lane open. And until October gets here, it’s not impossible to imagine the Bulls still cruising down it.
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Bulls Face New Pressure In Bennedict Mathurin Chase
Restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin suddenly has a much less settled market after the Clippers recent Bradley Beal acquisition, and the ripple effect has only widened the conversation around where he might end up. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that Mathurin and his representatives are in talks with the Clippers, Bulls, Pelicans and Bucks, keeping Chicago in the middle of a pursuit that has quickly become one of the more intriguing free-agent sagas of the summer.
For the Bulls, the appeal is obvious: Mathurin is the kind of young, productive wing talent that can change the shape of a roster, and any uncertainty around his next landing spot keeps Chicagos front office on alert. The situation is still fluid, though, with Milwaukee now part of the discussion and trade chatter beginning to surface around what a deal could look like if the market moves in that direction. [Read more 🡒]