Tiago Splitter has a dislike for labels.
The newly named Bulls head coach has his reasons.
“Foreign, big guy, 6’11, you don’t see many of those,” Splitter said of his own climb from former championship player to assistant coach, to now the leading man in that coaching chair. “So I was behind the bench in Houston with the Rockets, and I wanted to prove people wrong because sometimes we put labels like that. So that’s the reason I went to Paris (to coach). I wanted to lead a team. I wanted to be a head coach, I wanted to get a group of guys where they didn’t expect them to be and get them better, and I did that in Paris.
“I came back to the NBA, stuff happened, got a chance to lead a team again (in Portland) and I did the same thing. I don’t like to put labels on people. I hate it when they put it on me.”
No wonder the days leading up to Tuesday’s first round of the NBA Draft must be somewhat irritating for Splitter because that’s all the league becomes this time of the year – a series of labels.
“Can’t miss,” “athletically challenged,” “unpolished …”
Projected No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa has an inconsistent outside shot, projected No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson has an inconsistent motor. Cameron Boozer supposedly lacks a bit of athleticism, while projected No. 4 pick – where the Bulls currently reside – Caleb Wilson seems to have an allergy to making shots outside the paint.
Yet, as much as all of these prospects have been put under a microscope, the agreed assessment of the 2026 batch of players is this could prove to be one of the more talented, deepest draft classes since the vaunted 1996 class in which icons like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen and Steve Nash came out of.
And the Bulls find themselves sitting in a rare position of drafting power.
Only Memphis has a slight edge up on the Bulls when it comes to draft pick value with the Grizzlies holding No. 3 overall, No. 16 and then No. 32 (the second pick in the second round).
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham has No. 4 overall, No. 15, and second rounders No. 38, and No. 56.
In other words, talent is coming to a Bulls team that is currently talent starved.
Who that is – specifically at No. 4 – remains the question, but fortunately for the Bulls there are four great answers.
While it is a deep draft, the top tier is a four-man race led by Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer and Wilson. The latest intel has the Wizards going back and forth on either Dybantsa or Peterson at No. 1, but that could also be the shell game they are choosing to play.
Washington isn’t alone, either.
If it is Dybantsa at No. 1, Utah is also going with a smoke screen, making it very known that Boozer’s father – and one-time Bull – Carlos Boozer works as a scout/consultant for the organization.
Could Peterson and his baggage actually fall down to No. 4? It’s possible, and that’s why the Bulls are in such a position of power. They will get one of these big four no matter how the chess pieces are moved.
That’s why the Splitter hire was so important. Yes, he’s a big man that helped the development of Alperen Sengun while he was in Houston, but he also turned Trail Blazers point-forward Deni Avdija into an All-Star and somewhat resurrected the career of young guard Scoot Henderson.
Good news for Wilson, who only worked out for the Bulls, or for Peterson if he does slide a few spots.
As for No. 15 there are all kinds of names floating around with the Bulls, whether it’s Michigan big Aday Mara sliding to them, a two-way threat in Cameron Carr or a roughneck in Morez Johnson Jr., the franchise is set to add talent.
Unfortunately for Splitter, labels included.