The Chicago Bulls, needless to say, have had an active offseason.
They first absorbed veteran center Nic Claxton into their cap space, solidifying the position that held the most questions heading into 2026-27. They then added Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft before filling out the remainder of their depth chart with their signings of Norman Powell and Zach Collins.
Each of these moves gives them both roster flexibility and financial flexibility in the long-term, and that's something to be prized as Chicago plows forward into its rebuild.
But there's a chance that Bryson Graham's offseason business hasn't yet come to an end. The Bulls still have a vacant roster spot and an unused room mid-level exception if they want to target any of the players remaining on the market. With their rotation mostly set and a great number of the viable free agent options already having signed new contracts, however, their best move has slowly become clear.
They should hold on to that roster spot until the right opportunity to take on a bad contract presents itself, even if that doesn't come until the trade deadline.
Bulls have a chance to amass future draft capital, but they need to leave their final roster spot open to claim it
In the span of a few short weeks, Chicago went from having one of the league's most wide-open rosters to a relatively solidified rotation. Claxton, Collins, and Jalen Smith will take minutes at center while Wilson, Matas Buzelis, Noa Essengue, and Patrick Williams take on minutes in the frontcourt. With the additions of Powell and Swain, the backcourt also has much more depth than was anticipated.
For a team that's not expecting to truly compete this season, that should be sufficient.
There was a time, though, where adding a cheap free agent may have provided Chicago with an opportunity to swap that player for draft capital at the trade deadline— especially if that player was a wing with a chance for a strong season from beyond the arc. But as pieces like Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, and Jett Howard continue to come off the market, that option has slowly been taken away.
Now Chicago has a different opportunity— even if it comes at a later time.
They have the financial flexibility and the tradeable contracts to make a move for an 'albatross' sort of deal— like Jakob Poeltl or Christian Braun— while gaining some future draft capital in the process.
There are other options here, such as converting a two-way player to a standard contract or adding some additional perimeter shooting on the open market. But the reason Graham has left that roster spot open to this point in the offseason seems clear.
He's seeking out the right opportunity for the Bulls to benefit from another organization's mistakes.
Add us as a preferred source on Google