Five months is typically a short time to identify or judge recurring patterns in an organization. However, in the case of Chicago Bulls lead front office executive Bryson Graham, his most identifiable hallmark in running the Bulls’ basketball operations organization is packing his organizational chart with fellow alumni from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Whether in the front office or on the coaching bench, the Pelicans halo hanging over the 2026-27 Chicago Bulls is hard to ignore. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Clutch Points’ Chris Dodson is reporting that the Chicago Bulls are among nine NBA teams that are actively monitoring the trade availability of Pelicans wings Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III.
Jones and Murphy III are familiar figures to Bryson Graham, who was a member of the New Orleans Pelicans front office that drafted Jones in the 2021 NBA Draft, while acquiring Jones III via trade a few months after the 2021 NBA Draft from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Both wings are intriguing players in terms of skill sets. However, whether either player is an ideal roster addition to Graham’s Chicago Bulls rebuild is a different conversation.
Don’t forget: Caleb Wilson is the cornerstone
Presumably, the Chicago Bulls have found their foundational, franchise cornerstone in rookie forward Caleb Wilson. Maybe the Bulls still have a young upside player in forward Matas Buzelis. Leonard Miller seems to be on the verge of becoming “a guy” in the Bulls' second unit. Oh yeah, there’s also Noa Essengue and Dailyn Swain. The key theme in all this: the Bulls already have a lot of wings.
At best, if the trade premise is moving Buzelis for either Murphy III or Jones, that is perhaps a marginal improvement on the wing tag team partner that suits up with Wilson in the Bulls starting lineup. At worst, if adding either Jones or Murphy III to the Bulls’ newfound glut of wings were to occur, then the Bulls roster would continue to be shallow on legitimate frontcourt size and ball-handling.
How would either scenario make a material impact on improving Caleb Wilson’s NBA development?
Jones and Murphy III are sizeable financial commitments
Herb Jones three-year, $67.5 million contract extension kicks in starting in the 2027-28 NBA season. Meanwhile, Murphy III is due $60 million in guaranteed salary over two more seasons after the conclusion of the 2026-27 NBA season, according to Spotrac.
As much consternation as some Bulls fans have expressed over the Bulls absorbing center Nic Claxton’s remaining $44 million guaranteed into their cap space during the 2026 NBA offseason, it’s hard to justify the Bulls taking on either Murphy III's or Jones’ salary as a move that will project well as a good use of cap space, given both players are at best high-functioning starters who are not destined for NBA All-Star status anytime soon.
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