The Chicago Bulls' new head of basketball operations will have plenty of solutions to create this offseason, from draft choices to free agent signings. But they'll also need to be aware of the often-overlooked minimum salary requirements, which will make getting those decisions correct even more critical.
The Bulls have one lottery pick in the stacked 2026 NBA Draft (and potentially another top-15 selection). They're projected to have the most available cap space of any team in the league and the ability to create a new roster almost entirely from scratch.
But that freedom comes at a cost: The new GM will have to spend at least $46 million this summer, and they cannot waste it.
Bulls' next GM will inherit immediate financial complications
The aforementioned assets make the head job in Chicago sneaky attractive — but they also make it a pressure-packed position.
The salary cap component seems relatively straightforward: With more than $60 million to spend and only eight players under contract, sign a few young guys to complement the core duo of Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis. And, preferably, add some size and defense.
But it's not that simple.
Hoops Rumors does a nice job explaining what happens to a franchise that doesn't hit the minimum salary floor — 90 percent of that year's salary cap — by opening night. It would lose access to, among other things, the entirety of its cap space and end-of-season luxury tax payouts.
There's more nuance to it, but essentially, the Bulls would cost themselves money if they don't spend that $46 million this summer, and that's clearly not something this organization is comfortable doing.
The Bulls must spend their cap space wisely
This year's crop of unrestricted free agents is underwhelming, but that doesn't mean the landscape is barren. Players like Walker Kessler, Tari Eason, Peyton Watson and Austin Reaves are all restricted free agents. The Bulls can offer them a massive payday, but their incumbent organizations can match that offer to keep them.
But Chicago's enormous amount of cap space relative to the rest of the league gives it an advantage. Take Kessler, for instance — the 7-foot-2 center is only 24 years old and already one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA. The Bulls could certainly use that kind of interior presence.
Kessler, currently a member of the Utah Jazz, is reportedly aiming for a new deal in the range of $30 million annually; the Jazz would prefer to keep that number closer to $25 million. Chicago could offer him the $30 million he's looking for and force Utah into an uncomfortable decision: pay him more than they'd like or let him leave for the Windy City.
This is how the Bulls must approach free agency this summer. Spend money — at least $46 million — on young players who fill a need and have upside to grow with Buzelis, Giddey and a developing roster. That's how sustained success is built.
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