Six days into the 2026 NBA free agency period, and NBA media outlets have not delayed in their grading of free agency transactions across the league.
In a Friday column for ESPN, Zach Kram delivered critical free agency grades on the Chicago Bulls' NBA offseason transactions at the time of the column’s publishing, absorbing the remaining $44 million and two years of center Nic Claxton’s contract into cap space via trade, re-signing center Zach Collins to a two-year $17 million contract, and signing guard Norm Powell to a two-year $45 million contract.
Kram’s critical assessment of the Bulls’ 2026 offseason appears to be rooted in a premise that the Bulls' suite of 2026 offseason roster moves are decent and comes at the expense of cap space opportunity costs incurred by not pursuing marquee restricted free agent names like center Walker Kessler or center Jalen Duren.
However, it’s possible the Bulls’ 2026 offseason circumstances should be judged in the context of a new front office, inheriting a half-torn-down roster from their predecessor, while also fielding an extensive head coach search.
Perhaps the motive behind Bulls lead front executive, Bryson Graham, was to set up his front office to execute longer-term, bigger impact moves after getting bearings as a new Bulls administration during the summer of 2026.
Graham needs to land a knockout roster move by February 2027
It is not unreasonable to surmise that Graham may have many questions to sort through to arrive at the first iteration of defining the foundation of his Bulls roster. The 2026 NBA trade deadline castaways in guard Rob Dillingham and forward Leonard Miller are likely player that won’t see priority rotational minutes based on their Minnesota Timberwolves body of work.
Undersized, idea-of-a-wing-stopper Isaac Okoro seems to stick out like a sore thumb with the additions of long wings in rookies Caleb Williams and Dailyn Swain. How would Graham have figured out an impact roster move to make with these spare parts scattered across his roster?
Meanwhile, Graham also needs to make honest evaluations about where players like forwards Matas Buzelis, Noa Essengue, and guard Josh Giddey stand in his Bulls roster.
The 2026 NBA offseason should give Bryson Graham a clear blueprint that guides his roster construction moves, which can certainly start with repurposing Zach Collins' salary before the start of the 2026 NBA preseason.
Ideally, Graham’s big front office punches should land the Bulls more shooting and either a long-term center for the future or ambitiously a more athletic long-term point guard alternative to Josh Giddey.
Regardless of the outcome, the goal for Graham's front office should be to make a bigger roster splash to fully imprint his identity on this roster by the traditional midpoint of the 2026-27 NBA season.
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