Under new lead executive Bryson Graham, the Chicago Bulls have entered a new era.
While their rebuild was set in stone under the old regime at the trade deadline—when they dealt away Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu—it has taken shape with Graham at the helm. The Bulls let almost all of their free agents walk this offseason, adding Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain to their young core and bringing in Nic Claxton and Norman Powell to help raise the floor of the roster.
As they enter 2026-27, therefore, there will be a number of players competing for a future with the organization, and virtually everyone on the roster will have something to prove under this new configuration.
Here are the three players who perhaps have the most at stake as Chicago enters this new campaign.
3 Bulls players with the most to prove as the Bryson Graham era kicks off in Chicago
1. Matas Buzelis, F
Buzelis has already proved himself as a cornerstone of the Bulls' young core. He took major strides during his sophomore campaign, averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while knocking down 34.9% of his attempts from beyond the arc across 77 games.
But with Wilson entering the fold, Buzelis has another challenge in front of him. He needs to not only become more aggressive getting downhill, but he needs to hit his perimeter shots more consistently to prove himself as a long-term fit next to the Bulls' newest budding star. Buzelis will be eligible for an extension next offseason, and his performance in 2026-27 will determine whether Chicago is willing to help him avoid restricted free agency entirely.
Buzelis could either take the necessary strides this season and cement himself as a near-max player, or he could struggle to acclimate to Chicago's new structure and leave himself seeking a much more modest annual value on his next deal. The 2026-27 season will, therefore, be somewhat of a career-defining one for the 21-year-old forward.
2. Patrick Williams, F
Unless they're willing to undertake the recently re-popularized waive-and-stretch maneuver with Williams, the Bulls are likely stuck with the unproductive forward's contract until it expires in 2028-29. Although it's one of the worst contracts in the league in terms of production/monetary value, it's not necessarily an albatross. He's owed $18 million per season over the next three years, and there's a chance we see Williams finally start to put together his 3-and-D skill-set under the developmentally-minded Tiago Splitter.
But we'll know relatively quickly whether Williams is able to carve out a role in the Bulls' new rotation, and his NBA future could depend heavily upon his ability to do so.
3. Rob Dillingham, G
Dillingham is perhaps the most intriguing case here, at least in terms of immediate decisions to be made. The deadline for Chicago to pick up Dillingham's team option for 2027-28 is Oct. 31, meaning that the Bulls will essentially have the duration of training camp and the preseason to decide if they still see upside in Dillingham as a backup point guard long-term.
Dillingham has struggled to establish himself on either end of the floor through his pair of NBA seasons. He averaged just 9.6 points, three rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 30% from 3-point range across 30 games with Chicago last season— even with the enhanced opportunity that came with his departure from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
If Chicago declines Dillingham's team option, he'll be playing to elevate his market in unrestricted free agency. But even if they don't, he'll need to play well enough to stick in the rotation an prove he's more than just an $8.7 million trade chip heading into the final season of his rookie deal.
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