The Chicago Bulls are entering a very different kind of season, and that alone makes the rotation worth watching closely.
With Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter now steering the ship, the focus has shifted away from chasing the Play-In Tournament at all costs. The Bulls are embracing a more traditional rebuild, which means the day-to-day product is going to look a lot different. That doesn’t make it dull - it just means the roles around the roster are likely to move around in a big way.
Norman Powell is one of the clearest examples. Chicago brought him in to score, and he should still get plenty of chances early on.
The 33-year-old arrived on a sizeable free-agent deal to give the Bulls a proven shooter and a veteran presence, and his resume says he can handle a major offensive load. In 2025-26, Powell averaged 21.2 points per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from deep.
He also got to the line 5.5 times a night, a career high, and carried a 24.9 percent usage rate, which ranked in the league’s 93rd percentile.
But Chicago’s priorities are different from what Powell dealt with before. The Bulls are in the middle of a rebuild, and the emphasis is going to fall on young players like Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson.
That means Powell’s job may become less about forcing the issue and more about making things easier for the kids around him. As the season wears on, he could end up in more of a support role than people expect, closer to the kind of work he did in his Sixth Man days in Los Angeles or during his role-player stretch in Toronto.
Josh Giddey is another player whose responsibilities could look a lot different under the new regime. The previous front office treated him like a core piece, trading an All-Defensive Team guard to get him and then handing him a four-year, $100.0 million contract.
That doesn’t guarantee the same level of trust from this group. Giddey will still matter, but he may have to earn the kind of usage he had last season.
Arturas Karnisovas clearly wanted him operating as a scorer and lead guard, with an emphasis on attacking the basket and taking more threes. Tiago Splitter may not see it the same way.
The Bulls could simplify Giddey’s responsibilities and lean harder on his passing while leaving more of the scoring burden to their athletic wings. Nic Claxton’s arrival could help Giddey create more in pick-and-roll, but he has never been a particularly dynamic half-court scorer, and that may lead Chicago to strip some of that pressure off his plate.
That brings the conversation to Leonard Miller, who looks like a player whose role could rise fast if the early signs hold. Graham made one of his first moves by picking up Miller’s team option, and it’s easy to see why.
After arriving from the Minnesota Timberwolves at the trade deadline, Miller earned more minutes and made them count. Over his final 18 games of 2025-26, he averaged nearly 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from three.
Still just 22, Miller didn’t get many chances in Minnesota because the Timberwolves were always pushing for the postseason. In Chicago, he has a real opening to show what he can do.
At 6-foot-10, with aggressive athleticism and enough footwork to defend multiple spots, he looks like a strong fit for the SLAP model. He also plays hard, and he outperformed Patrick Williams down the stretch last season.
If that carries over, more minutes should follow.
In Other News...
Patrick Williams Just Got One More Chance With The Bulls
With the Bulls already thinking ahead to the 2026-27 season, the focus is shifting from quick fixes to figuring out which pieces can still grow into real rotation players. Tiago Splitters role as a development-minded coach matters here, because this roster has several young or still-forming pieces that need clarity, and Patrick Williams remains one of the biggest names in that conversation.
Williams has not lived up to the expectations that once surrounded him, but the Bulls are still treating him like a player with time to change his trajectory. Noa Essengue also fits into that larger evaluation, though his path is more about long-term readiness and eventual opportunity than immediate help, leaving Chicagos bench picture and the next wave of rotation decisions very much unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Giddey Just Became The Bulls' Most Complicated Fit
Josh Giddeys first season in Chicago gave the Bulls plenty to like. He averaged 17.0 points and 9.1 assists per game in 2025-26, and his three-point shooting ticked up after he arrived, giving the front office a version of him that looked more comfortable and more scalable than the one it inherited. For a team still shaping its identity around a younger core, that kind of production matters, especially from a player who can organize an offense and keep the ball moving.
The fit question now is less about whether Giddey can help and more about what role best fits the group around him. Chicago has started building around Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson, with Norman Powell and Nic Claxton also in the mix, and that changes the amount of creation available at the point of attack. Giddeys overall metrics on both ends suggest the Bulls are still trying to balance his strengths with the demands of a more layered offensive system, which leaves his place in the pecking order very much worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Still Have A Chance To Turn These Misses Into A Win
The Bulls missed out on two free-agent targets, but there is still a clear line of thinking behind the way they have operated. Chicago has leaned into roster and financial flexibility under executive Bryson Graham, a cautious approach that can feel frustrating in the moment but is designed to keep options open as the market keeps shifting.
Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga are off the board, and their decisions only sharpen the question of how Chicago can still turn a couple of missed swings into something useful. The Bulls are watching two clubs deal with salary-cap pressure and a few crowded decisions of their own, which could create the kind of opening that rewards patience if Chicago decides to act. [Read more 🡒]