The Minnesota Timberwolves have given the Bulls a name to think about, but not necessarily a perfect fit.
On Friday, Minnesota sent guard Josh Green, plus cash considerations, to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Cody Williams and wing John Konchar, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Timberwolves are expected to keep Williams, the No. 10 pick in 2024, and waive-and-stretch Konchar’s remaining $6.2 million salary, sources said. Minnesota officially confirmed the move on Saturday.
That decision opens the door for Konchar to hit free agency, and it creates a possible opening for Chicago to pounce. The Bulls could use their $9.4 million room mid-level exception to give Konchar a raise and fill their 15th and final main roster spot.
But this is where the fit gets tricky. Konchar brings defense and rebounding, not shooting. He owns a career 34.9% three-point mark on 1.8 attempts per game, which is exactly the kind of profile that becomes harder to fit on a roster already short on proven spacing.
There’s a clear reason Minnesota moved on from him. The Wolves are expected to land roughly $500,000 under the NBA second apron once their books settle with Williams, forward Jonathan Kuminga, and the Konchar stretch, according to Spotrac. Trading Josh Green’s $14.9 million expiring deal for Williams and Konchar lets Minnesota cut that salary down to Williams’ $6 million guaranteed number for 2026-27, while the final year of Williams’ contract in 2027-28 is a non-guaranteed team option.
Williams will enter his age-22 season in 2026-27. Konchar would be 30 if he signs elsewhere.
The age difference may have mattered too, but Konchar’s value is easy to see. Over seven NBA seasons, he has averaged 1.8 steals per 36 minutes and 8.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, according to Basketball Reference. Those are the kinds of numbers that can matter in Chicago, where rebounding already looks like a concern after the 2026 NBA trade deadline departure of center Nikola Vucevic and the expected step-in role for Nic Claxton.
Claxton, despite being 6-foot-11, has never averaged double-digit rebounds in a season across his seven-year NBA career, and he’s spent the last four years in a starting role with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Bulls also enter 2026-27 with questions on defense, which makes Konchar’s veteran presence more appealing in theory. At some point, that roster is going to need more than just bodies - it will need players who can help shape an identity.
Still, the bigger issue is that Chicago has spent years digging itself into a shooting hole. During Arturas Karnisovas’ six seasons running the Bulls’ front office from 2020 to 2026, four of those teams finished outside the NBA top 10 in both three-point percentage and three-point attempts.
The Bulls did finish in the top 10 in both categories in 2024-25 and 2025-26, but those results were heavily tied to players who are no longer around, including Zach LaVine, Kevin Huerter, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White.
That leaves Bryson Graham with a roster that can look respectable from deep on paper while still lacking real volume shooting beyond Norman Powell. Graham didn’t help that problem this offseason by using cap space on Claxton, extending center Zach Collins and taking Dailyn Swain at No. 15 in the 2026 NBA Draft.
So Konchar remains an intriguing possibility, but also a reminder of the cost of building a roster that can’t comfortably absorb a player whose value comes more from defense and boards than from the arc.
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Billy Donovan Just Raised A New Concern Around Bulls Prospects
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Donovan did draw a distinction for undrafted players who are trying to find their way back into school ball, saying he is supportive of that route. What makes the issue feel more immediate for Chicago is the way Donovan framed the broader recruiting reality around the Bulls G League sphere, where teams are now navigating a market that did not exist in anything like this form a few years ago. The names he had in mind were not identified, but the concern he raised is one plenty of front offices are now watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Bulls, the appeal in a setup like that is less about headline talent and more about being the team that can smooth out the transaction for everyone else. The idea is still entirely speculative, but Chicagos role would be part of the same familiar trade landscape that often emerges when one team wants to simplify its books and another needs a clean path to the player it wants. [Read more 🡒]
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Caleb Wilson did not wait long to make himself noticed in a Bulls uniform. The rookies Summer League debut turned heads with a 35-point burst, and that showing has only added to the buzz building around a player who already had team sources talking about his early impact. For a Chicago team in the middle of significant offseason change, any sign of upside matters, and Wilson has quickly become one of the more intriguing names in the mix.
What makes the early optimism more interesting is how much work sits behind it. Wilson battled injuries during his college season, then spent the offseason rebuilding his shot with relentless repetition, putting in marathon days from deep to sharpen the part of his game the Bulls believe can translate. The questions now are less about whether he can capture attention and more about how quickly that promise can become something useful once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]