The Bulls have left themselves room to make one more swing, and the restricted free-agent market is where that possibility starts to get interesting.
Chicago still has a full-time roster spot open, and the team is sitting well below the luxury tax threshold. That matters because while the unrestricted market has thinned out, a few notable names remain in limbo on the RFA side. The Bulls have not been linked to any of them yet, but the longer this stretches into the summer, the easier it is to imagine Graham revisiting the idea of making a move before the offseason is over.
Peyton Watson is one of the names worth watching. Denver’s financial situation has pushed his future into uncertainty, and the Nuggets’ stance has shifted.
According to The Athletic, Watson turned down a five-year, $70.0 million offer. Then, on Tuesday, Shams Charania reported that Denver has lowered its asking price in a potential sign-and-trade.
The Nuggets are now said to want a first-round pick and "a really good, high-level player."
That price is no small thing, but Watson checks a lot of boxes for a Bulls team trying to build something new under Tiago Splitter. He is 23, long, athletic and dangerous in transition.
His perimeter game took a real step last season, when he hit a career-high 41.1 percent from three. He also got more comfortable finishing and attacking off the bounce.
The bigger selling point is on defense. Watson has the kind of size and lateral quickness that lets him switch across multiple positions, and Denver kept playing him early in his career because of that upside even when the offense lagged.
For Chicago, which is trying to establish a more defense-first identity, that profile makes a lot of sense. In a lot of ways, Watson looks like the kind of player the Bulls hope Dailyn Swain can become down the line.
The question, of course, is whether Chicago wants to spend a first-round pick this early in the rebuild. It’s a real cost, but the Bulls do have all of their future first-rounders available, which gives them room to consider a deal if they believe Watson can grow into the contract he signs.
Another RFA option still floating around is Bennedict Mathurin. The Stein Line recently reported that the New Orleans Pelicans have been monitoring his situation, along with an undisclosed second team, with the possibility of a sign-and-trade in mind.
Mathurin would fill a different kind of need. Chicago does not have a clear long-term answer at shooting guard, and Norman Powell was brought in more as a short-term piece than a permanent solution. Mathurin is still not a finished product, but the flashes have been there.
Last season, he averaged 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists with the Pacers and Clippers. The efficiency still needs work, but he brings toughness and force. His free throw attempts have climbed every season, and in 2025-26 he averaged 6.2 over 54 games.
There are fit questions. Mathurin likes to attack the rim first, which could crowd things a bit with Chicago’s young wings.
But he plays with edge, he has real scoring juice, and he has already shown he can handle a bench role. That makes him a possible sixth-man spark if the Bulls wanted to bring him in and let him change games that way.
Chicago may not be eager to spend big this early in the rebuild, and that hesitation makes sense. Still, Watson and Mathurin are both young enough to matter when the Bulls are ready to push forward.
If the goal is to keep collecting talent and assets, this is a market the front office should at least keep discussing. The price will decide everything, but as the summer goes on, that price could start to look a little more manageable.
In Other News...
Peyton Watsons Future Just Put Denvers Cap Crunch In Focus
Peyton Watsons next contract has become one of the more revealing tests of where the Nuggets stand financially. Denver has already put a number on the table for the restricted free agent forward, but Watsons camp has been aiming much higher, a gap that puts his place in the teams long-term plans right alongside the clubs broader cap stress.
The Nuggets are open to sign-and-trade possibilities, but the mechanics are anything but simple, especially with rival teams needing to thread their own cap rules to get involved. For Denver, the bigger question is no longer just whether Watson stays, but whether a deal can be structured at all without forcing the front office into an even tighter corner. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets May Face A Brutal Choice On One Promising Young Wing
The market for Jonathan Kuminga is already complicated enough, with the Cavaliers and Lakers both in the mix and Cleveland scheduled to meet with the restricted free agent about a possible sign-and-trade. Kuminga is reportedly chasing a deal north of $20 million per year, which has made the entire process feel more like a domino setup than a simple free-agent chase.
For Denver, the more relevant ripple is the one tied to Peyton Watson, whose name has surfaced in speculation around Clevelands broader plans. Watson is expected to command an $80 million contract, and the Nuggets are now being pulled into the kind of multi-team maneuvering that can force a front office to weigh long-term upside against immediate roster flexibility, especially when a promising young wing starts drawing real outside interest. [Read more 🡒]