The Bulls are down to their final two preseason games, and Tiago Splitter is already adjusting how he wants to use them. After spending much of October mixing and matching a young roster, the head coach said this week that Chicago will move to a stricter rotation against the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
That should mean a more familiar workload for the regulars, with veterans like Norman Powell, Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro, and Buddy Hield likely to see more minutes. Even with that shift, though, Splitter made it clear the Bulls are still going to keep testing things out. That makes sense for a roster that is still being sorted through, especially with Nic Claxton and Zach Collins still sidelined.
There’s more structure coming, but not everything is about to lock into place. The Bulls have some players who are already beginning to separate themselves, and Leonard Miller is making a real case for himself. While Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis have grabbed plenty of attention, Miller has been the one quietly piling up the strongest preseason résumé.
His latest showing came against the Denver Nuggets, where he went 11-14 from the field and added 7 rebounds. More than the numbers, Miller has looked steady on both ends and comfortable in roles that ask him to cover ground, defend, and attack mismatches. Splitter sounded impressed when he talked about him Tuesday.
“I think he’s doing a tremendous job, just playing at the five and the four. He can play both positions.
His versatility there is awesome. He can attack slower bigs, and you talk about random basketball, I think he’s great at that.
It’s really hard to predict what he’s going to do," Splitter said on Tuesday.
That praise carries weight because Miller’s offseason was anything but settled. His future was uncertain until Bryson Graham decided to pick up his team options for the 2026-27 season, and even then he entered camp surrounded by a crowded wing group. Instead of getting squeezed out, he has pushed his way into the conversation for a real role.
The Bulls have also been using their preseason minutes in a way that suggests Miller is ahead of both Patrick Williams and Noa Essengue right now, which effectively puts him in line as a primary backup to Caleb Wilson. If that holds and the production stays steady, the idea of extension talks down the road starts to make sense. Miller is headed toward unrestricted free agency, so locking him into this young core could become a priority sooner rather than later.
Wilson, meanwhile, has gotten his own crash course. The No. 4 overall pick has been given the ball early and often, and Splitter has even kept him on the floor deep into the fourth quarter. That has come with the expected ups and downs, but it has also given Wilson a clear look at what he needs to handle at the NBA level.
Physicality has been the biggest adjustment so far. Teams have crowded the paint when he attacks and bumped him around on defense, which has forced him to learn how much stronger he needs to get. Wilson laid out the challenge himself after practice Tuesday.
"Honestly, it's going to take me getting stronger to really adjust to it. But being able to be smarter and know that I have leverage of certain people in certain positions is something that's really big for me," Wilson said after practice on Tuesday. "Boxing out, not being able to get pushed in the back, being more physical off the hit, like being in the right position.
You have to overcompensate when you lack in that department. I'm not the biggest guy, and I know that.
But I'm working on that. I have to be in the right position when it's time to box out, I know when it's time to get over a screen, I can't be standing straight up.
Just stuff like that. But the adjustment has been pretty good for me.
I feel like I'm making steps in the right direction, and it can only get better."
That kind of self-assessment stands out. Wilson is already showing that he understands this is about more than just adding muscle. He knows the details matter too, and that awareness is part of what makes his early preseason stretch worth watching as Chicago gets ready for opening night in Toronto, one week away.
In Other News...
Bulls Win Still Left One Concern Fans Shouldn't Ignore
The Bulls 125-104 win over the Bucks looked like the kind of early-season statement that can steady a locker room and energize a fan base. Chicago got useful production from Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Noa Essengue, Norman Powell and Jalen Smith, and the result said plenty about how the Bulls handled a shorthanded Milwaukee group by turning mistakes into momentum.
Still, there was a reason not to get too carried away. The same kind of sloppiness that helped Chicago run away with it also pointed to the sort of discipline test that can show up again once opponents are healthier and sharper, and the Bulls will want to make sure their best stretches are built on more than just what the other side gives away. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Young Core Is Already Forcing A Real Rotation Debate
Chicagos fourth preseason win, a 121-98 finish over Milwaukee, offered a little bit of everything the Bulls have been chasing as the regular season approaches. Against a Bucks group missing several key players, Chicago ran the floor well, moved the ball with purpose and got useful looks from a mix of veterans and younger pieces, including Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, Noa Essengue and Josh Giddey.
The broader takeaway was less about the final score than the competition it surfaced for minutes. Buzelis and Essengue, in particular, helped underline how quickly the Bulls young core is pressing into the conversation, while Giddeys playmaking fit neatly into the kind of lineup decisions that now seem less straightforward than they did a week ago. The preseason is supposed to sort out roles, but this group may be making that process harder in exactly the right way. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Suddenly Enter A Star Chase That Could Change Everything
Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks still have not come to terms on a contract extension, and the situation has become one more piece of business New York is choosing to park while it focuses on defending a championship and sorting out other roster decisions, including Josh Harts contract. For teams watching from the outside, that has created a real opening around one of the leagues most talented big men, with the Bulls suddenly mentioned among the clubs keeping tabs on where this goes next.
An anonymous NBA executive has already pointed to Chicago and the Clippers as possible landing spots if Towns does not re-sign with New York, a reminder that every delay in extension talks can change the market quickly. For the Bulls, the appeal is obvious: a player of Towns caliber rarely becomes available, and if the Knicks continue to hold off on a deal, Chicago could find itself in a position to make a move it did not seem to have on the board not long ago. [Read more 🡒]