Joel Lorenzi’s latest look at the Bulls’ summer sheds some light on two of the names that kept popping up around Chicago: Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga.
The Mathurin buzz, Lorenzi writes, was bigger than the reality. He reiterates his previous reporting that the Bulls’ interest in the former sixth overall pick was overstated.
Part of the reason was fit - Mathurin’s game, Lorenzi explains, wasn’t “particularly additive” to Chicago’s roster. There also appears to have been a line the Bulls never wanted to cross on contract terms.
Lorenzi points to the two-year deal Mathurin signed with the Pelicans, which includes a second-year player option, as a “level of commitment the Bulls never seemed willing to reach.”
The Kuminga pursuit sounds more genuine. Lorenzi says Chicago’s interest in the former Warrior was real, and he notes that head of basketball operations Bryson Graham was in Atlanta’s front office when the Hawks acquired Kuminga at last season’s trade deadline.
Even so, the Bulls weren’t prepared to make him a central promise. A source told The Athletic that Chicago would not guarantee Kuminga a regular starting spot or late-game closing role, and the team still would have put a premium on developing young forwards Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis.
Kuminga ultimately chose a Timberwolves offer that gave him a shot to win a starting job on a team with championship aspirations.
Around the Central, the Cavaliers came away from the summer with an ESPN grade of B from Zach Kram. Cleveland gave up depth, but it also stayed out of tax apron territory while re-signing James Harden and adding Peyton Watson, a wing Kram views as a possible impact piece.
In ESPN’s offseason recap and season preview, Kram singled out third-year swingman Jaylon Tyson as the Cavs’ X factor for 2026/27. Tyson is expected to step into a major rotation role after the departures of Keon Ellis, Dean Wade, Dennis Schröder, and Max Strus.
ESPN’s insiders also handed the Pacers a B-minus for a summer that largely centered on adding Kelly Oubre Jr. and swapping Micah Potter for Larry Nance Jr. Indiana had already gotten a jump on the offseason by trading for Ivica Zubac at the 2026 in-season deadline, and Kram sees the new starting center as the team’s biggest X factor heading into the next season.
In Detroit, Steve Scalzi is moving from the Pistons’ bench to the head seat with the Motor City Cruise. The Pistons announced that Scalzi, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant on Detroit’s staff, has been named head coach of the G League affiliate.
He replaces Jamelle McMillan, who had coached the NBAGL club for the last three seasons. The Cruise also issued a farewell statement thanking McMillan for his work with the team.
In Other News...
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For Indiana, the real issue is not whether the talent is there, but whether the roles settle quickly enough to keep the season from becoming a series of adjustments. Haliburtons return changes the shape of everything, and the Pacers need Nembhard and Sheppard to keep providing dependable minutes while Zubac handles a bigger burden inside. The upside is obvious, but so is the pressure on a group that has to answer a few big questions before the team can know exactly what it is. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Could Get A Cheap Look At Unexpected Young Talent
Memphis latest trade left it carrying 19 players, four over the roster limit, and the coming wave of cuts could leave some interesting young talent on the board. For teams with a little patience and a need for low-cost upside, that is the kind of paperwork chaos that can turn into an opportunity, especially when the players in question are still early in their careers and could be available without much in the way of acquisition cost.
The Pacers will be watching closely because there may be a chance to take a cheap look at someone who still has room to grow into a role. Among the names in the mix are young guards and wings who could appeal as developmental depth, and one of the more intriguing possibilities is a recent first-round pick whose stock has already become a little shaky. If Memphis follows through on the expected moves, Indiana could have a relatively easy path to make a claim for help at a spot where young, affordable talent is always worth exploring. [Read more 🡒]