Bryson Graham has spoken with a certain amount of honesty since taking over the vacancy for the executive vice president of basketball operations.
There’s no fantasy talk of rainbows and unicorns with this current Bulls roster, and there’s no promises of an immediate turnaround in Year 1.
It’s a roll-up-the-sleeves mentality with a lot of talk about “the foxhole.”
Heck, that was one of the major reasons Graham went with Tiago Splitter as the coach because he knew he needed a like mind in the process.
“When you’re going through hard times as a coach, player, front office staff, you’ve got to be in a foxhole with somebody that you trust,” Graham said a few weeks back. “There’s no one more I’d rather be in that foxhole with (than Splitter).
“Let’s get to work.”
That work crawled out of the gate on Tuesday evening with NBA free agency tipping off and the Bulls surrounded with smoke but no real fire into the first few hours. After strutting out of the NBA Draft last week with Caleb Wilson (No. 4 overall) and Dailyn Swain (No. 15), it felt like time to spend the $31 million in cap space. That will happen, but the market was slow moving to say the least.
The Bulls did keep Zach Collins out of free agency by inking him to a two-year, $17 million extension, but the only major churning for the Bulls was the rumor mill, as sources reiterated a report that linked the Bulls to veteran guard Norman Powell, while the Sun-Times learned that the Bulls were in talks with the Cavaliers with speculation of Max Strus returning to his hometown team.
Both transactions would make sense considering the Bulls aren’t looking for a playoff push with this roster, but because of the new 3-2-1 draft lottery rules, finishing bottom three is less than ideal. The sweet spot for best lottery odds is No. 4 through No. 10.
Considering the lack of outside shooting the Bulls have, Strus or Powell would not only help in that department but would add spacing to the floor for the young frontcourt to develop. More importantly, both would be solid mentors to a very young roster.
They each have had doses of “Heat Culture,” and both have shown an ability to guard with physicality. Exactly what Graham and Splitter have talked about when describing the style of play they want from the Bulls.
So where does that leave the roster on night one of free agency in the wake of a turbulent last week throughout the Association? Like Graham said, the “early stages.”
Kam Jones, who was acquired in a second-round trade last week, was waived, so that cleared a roster spot.
Wilson and Swain will get a first glimpse of NBA life – albeit Summer League basketball – and all signs point to forward Noa Essengue joining them after the 2025 first-rounder took a redshirt year to get his ongoing shoulder issue finally addressed.
And there’s a good chance that Splitter will be coaching the trio – at least for a few games in Vegas.
August will be huge for the veteran players as they start to gather in Chicago for open runs and scrimmages, but Josh Giddey will be front and center, expected to be cleared for full contact and basketball activity after an offseason ankle surgery.
First thing first, and that will be navigating a bumpy landscape that saw LeBron James walkaway from the Lakers, while players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant and Kawhi Leonard have been traded.
Free agency, however, was a slow play compared to past seasons, mostly because there aren’t a lot of teams with money to spend. If anything, Graham was playing Tuesday the right way, letting the market set prices and playing the waiting game.