The Chicago Bulls' rebuild is already well underway.
The undertook a major roster teardown at the trade deadline, moving off of Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu. It's left them not only with ample financial flexibility but also with a wide-open roster that they can inject young talent into. With the fourth and 15th overall picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, they'll soon have the opportunity to establish a strong young core to begin building around.
Their hire of lead executive Bryson Graham is already a promising start. Graham has a strong history of drafting and player development between the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks. So far, he's preached a vision centered around athleticism and defensive upside, and it's certainly one Chicago will begin implementing with their selections in this year's draft.
But as of now, one things is missing from the formula— the Bulls are still without a head coach just 10 days out from the start of the Draft. Thankfully, Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst at ESPN recently reported that Chicago appears to be the closest to making a hire out of the teams remaining on the carousel.
"Chicago, which last month hired former Atlanta Hawks executive Bryson Graham as its new head of basketball operations, appears to be the closest to landing on a hire, having interviewed Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori, Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter, Hawks assistant coach Ryan Schmidt and current Bulls assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr." Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, ESPN
All of these four candidates have their individual merits. But no matter who the Bulls ultimately choose, they need to have their next head coach secured if they want to enter the 2026 NBA Draft with a distinct vision and direction for the organization.
In a draft chock-full of talent, the Bulls need to move forward with a concrete direction
No matter how the draft ultimately breaks, the Bulls should be primed to come away with a pair of exciting young prospects. If they stay put inside the top-four, they're almost guaranteed to come away with an immediately impactful piece— most likely one of Caleb Wilson, Cameron Boozer, or Darryn Peterson.
At 15th overall, the options are much wider. If they want, they could likely come away with a piece from the class's second tier of guards. Cameron Carr, Labaron Philon Jr., and Christian Anderson Jr. should all be options in that range. There will also likely be strong frontcourt presences available in Morez Johnson Jr., Jayden Quaintance, and Hannes Steinbach.
We already have a pretty clear picture of what the Bulls are looking for under Graham. Prospects like Wilson and Carr will appeal to Graham's penchant for defensive upside. But Chicago has, for so long, been marked by a lack of a distinct vision and a lack of harmony between the front office and the coaching staff.
Micah Nori comes from a scouting and a game management background. Tiago Splitter and Ryan Schmidt have more extensive head coaching experience, and Splitter comes from a player development background. Wes Unseld Jr., meanwhile, is the 'continuity' candidate— he spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach under Billy Donovan.
Whoever they draft at both fourth and 15th overall will, hopefully, be cornerstones of the team moving forward. But whoever is at the helm needs to be in full agreement with Graham and the rest of the front office on what the ultimate vision is for those players on the roster.
If the Bulls can achieve that level of harmony between now and the start of the NBA Draft, there's very little room for them to fail.
Add us as a preferred source on Google