The Bulls missed out on two names that had been hanging around their rumor mill, but that doesn’t mean the door is shut on using those situations to their advantage.
Bennedict Mathurin, who had been tied to Chicago for weeks, reportedly landed a two-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. Jonathan Kuminga, a late arrival to the Bulls chatter, also came off the board, agreeing to a two-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. For a rebuilding Bulls team with an open roster spot, that looked like a lost chance on the surface.
But there’s a bigger layer here. If Chicago truly wanted to beat the offers Mathurin and Kuminga got, it had the room to do it.
The Bulls also could have pushed harder with a player option, since both players accepted that kind of setup on their new deals. Instead, everything points to a front office that is being deliberate about preserving flexibility.
That’s been the early theme under Bryson Graham. He’s working from scratch and keeping as many tools available as possible, especially after adding team options for Norman Powell and Zach Collins. The message so far is clear: he’s not going to spend or commit just to spend or commit.
And that restraint could still pay off.
New Orleans is in a tight spot after signing Mathurin. The Pelicans are only a couple of million below the luxury tax line and are already over the 15-player limit.
Reports have been pointing for months to a possible move away from Jordan Hawkins, who is owed a little over $7.0 million this season and has not developed into the high-volume knockdown shooter the Pelicans expected. Chicago could make sense as a landing spot because Hawkins’ salary fits cleanly into the Bulls’ remaining room exception, which is $9.4 million.
The contract is also expiring, so Graham wouldn’t be taking on any long-term baggage. There’s another wrinkle, too: Graham was in the Pelicans’ front office when Hawkins went No. 14 overall in 2023. He was a primary voice there at the time and was praised for his evaluation skills, so there’s at least a built-in connection.
Hawkins also wouldn’t be a pure dead-end addition. He hasn’t become the scoring threat many projected out of UConn, but he still has a smooth outside shot, and that kind of floor spacing could help a forward-heavy Bulls roster.
That said, Chicago shouldn’t take him just to do New Orleans a favor. The entire point would be to extract value from the Pelicans if they need to clear the money. A protected first-rounder feels like a stretch, but the Bulls could at least push for second-round value in return.
Minnesota brings a different kind of pressure. Keith Smith of Spotrac reported that Kuminga’s contract will trigger a second apron hard cap, which means the Timberwolves have to trim salary. They also need to get to 14 guaranteed contracts, and right now they would sit at 13 after signing him, so they’d need room for a veteran minimum player as well.
Josh Green has been the most frequently mentioned salary-dump candidate. Still, the Timberwolves also have the option of moving Terrence Shannon Jr. or Joan Beringer, both of whom could make sense for a Bulls team trying to build a tougher, more athletic identity.
Shannon Jr. may be the most realistic target and fits that hard-nosed profile. Beringer would be the dream swing - a 19-year-old seven-footer taken No. 17 in the 2025 NBA Draft who could become a real piece at center.
But that feels unlikely in this setup. Green is probably the preferred trade chip for Minnesota, though his $14.7 million salary makes the math harder for Chicago unless the Bulls move money of their own and get a serious incentive to do it.
That’s the kind of opening Graham has been waiting for. There haven’t been many chances this summer for teams to dump salary and attach draft capital, but that can change fast once front offices start thinking ahead to the 2026-27 season. When that happens, Chicago may finally get the kind of leverage it’s been waiting for.
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Anthony Edwards is also sounding and acting like a player ready to carry more of the tone-setting load. For a team that already knows what it looks like to win in spurts, the bigger question is how that energy translates when the rotation settles and the new pieces are asked to fit quickly into a group that expects to contend again. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Still Have One Roster Problem They Can't Ignore
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Los Angeles remains boxed in by the limits of its financial situation, which means any meaningful addition likely requires another move first. That is why the names floating around the market are the sort of lower-cost pieces that can still matter, with Bruce Brown and Cam Whitmore among the wings the Lakers could examine as they try to patch the roster without further tying their hands. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Face A Costly Donte DiVincenzo Decision In Cap Crunch
The Timberwolves offseason shuffle has left them doing some sharp accounting as they try to make room after adding LaMelo Ball and signing Jonathan Kuminga. Minnesota still needs to clear roughly $3 million, and with the roster math tightening, every decision around the back end of the lineup matters a little more than it did a week ago.
Donte DiVincenzo has become one of the more interesting names in that mix because the team values him and appears to want him in the fold once he gets past his injury. ESPNs Bobby Marks has also made it clear he expects DiVincenzo to be part of Minnesotas plans, which puts the focus on how the Wolves create the necessary flexibility without sacrificing a player they hope can help alongside Ball when hes ready to return. [Read more 🡒]