Entering the offseason, the Chicago Bulls already had a destiny outlined for them. With their fire sale of talent at the trade deadline, they virtually had no option other than to rebuild and hope for the best.
Their hiring of Bryson Graham, though, has injected a clear and immediate vision into that rebuild. With the NBA's new '3-2-1' lottery system, which de-incentivizes tanking to an almost dangerous degree, Chicago desperately needed someone that could help them thread that needle.
While they now have a promising young core centered around Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, and Dailyn Swain, they also have the veteran talent on the roster in Norman Powell, Josh Giddey, and Nic Claxton to help keep them out of the basement of the Eastern Conference standings.
It wasn't Graham's decision to undertake a rebuild, but it was at his discretion how the Bulls approached it. As the Eastern Conference keeps getting stronger, Graham's strategy only looks smarter by the day.
The Bulls stood no shot in the Eastern Conference— but they're in perfect position to get there eventually
Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the reigning champion New York Knicks. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and the 60-win Detroit Pistons. Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors. Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and the Philadelphia 76ers. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat.
On any given night, this is who Chicago might be matched up against in the Eastern Conference.
Toss in the Indiana Pacers, who will be getting their star back in Tyrese Haliburton and attempting to regain the dominance they found two seasons ago. The Atlanta Hawks added Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins to an already defensively formidable roster. The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic also have their stars ready to fight for a top-six seed.
This is deeper than the Eastern Conference has been in quite a while. Would Chicago even be close to competitive if Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Nikola Vucevic were still on the roster? Probably not.
Again, though, those weren't Graham's decisions. What Graham has done is he's found a way to thread that needle— Chicago's floor is higher than the Brooklyn Nets' and the Milwaukee Bucks'. There's room to argue they have more upside than even the Washington Wizards, who are enlisting Anthony Davis and Trae Young into their rebuilding efforts this season.
That should help keep them in the 'sweet spot' of the new lottery system, where the odds have been flattened to incentivize competitiveness across the NBA.
If Graham had wanted to try to microwave the team back into play-in contention, the Bulls had the cap space to do so this offseason. By the time they work their way back to a competitive stature, perhaps this picture of the Eastern Conference will have shifted drastically.
But in the meantime, Chicago has a strong set of young prospects to build around, and they're in full possession of their first-round picks between now and 2033. While championship contention would obviously be better, Graham has put the Bulls into the best long-term position imaginable this offseason.
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