The Bulls are obviously still in the midst of the 2026 NBA offseason. At the same time, long-term vision is the name of the game for a competent, well-run NBA front office, which hopefully is the common objective of Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf and his lead front office executive, Bryson Graham.
Management vision should be acutely fixed on the Bulls' starting center position, which presumably is occupied by Nic Claxton today. However, by 2028, the Bulls should have an eye towards the future with a more viable starting center for hopefully a more competitive Bulls roster relative to the rest of the NBA Eastern Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns is a serious NBA starting center that may fit the bill for the Bulls, assuming requisite leaps in Caleb Wilson’s abilities and the winning abilities of the roster overall are realized when Towns is expected to become an unrestricted free agent during the 2028 NBA offseason.
Presumably, one should expect that if Towns indeed hits unrestricted free agency in 2028, the move would be motivated by a desire to seek his maximum contract value on his next NBA deal. For context, Spotrac estimates Towns' cap hold for the 2028-29 NBA season at $72 million average annual value (AAV).
Acquiring Towns would come at a steep price tag for the Bulls, and such an acquisition would also come with a spectrum of risks and rewards for the Bulls' front office leadership to weigh in on this decision.Â
Cap mechanics to consider in a Towns dealÂ
As a prerequisite, it is worth mentioning that Nic Claxton's time with the Bulls should also come to an end at the conclusion of the 2027-28 NBA season, which creates the roster spot and the beginnings of a salary slot to acquire Towns. Â
At a high level, the hypothetical cap math for Towns at $72 million AAV combined with the Bulls' currently projected 2028-29 active cap of $68.4 million according to Spotrac, would result in six filled roster slots and $140.4 in active cap spend. Â
Worth noting, a Matas Buzelis extension or restricted free-agency contract is not priced into these numbers. Additionally, Caleb Wilson becomes extension eligible in the following 2029 NBA offseason.
Known cap thresholds worth considering are the 2028-29 salary cap of $182.7 million and the first apron value of $231.5 million, according to Spotrac.
Weighing the decision to target Towns
The leveling-up of Towns' NBA reputation was completed once he added an NBA championship with the 2025-26 New York Knicks to a career well decorated with NBA All-Star and All-NBA team selections. Town's offensive reputation as a stretch-big has been intact for nearly the entirety of his NBA career.
Yet valid question marks have always existed about Towns' defense, his inside offensive presence as a big, and his ability to be a playmaker in addition to being a play finisher. Towns’ run throughout the 2026 NBA Playoffs largely answered those questions definitively.
The reward of acquiring Towns is clear in that he is an All-NBA caliber player who is a viable secondary scoring option to pair with a number one option (fingers crossed that’s Caleb Wilson). Â
On the risk side, it’s clear that signing a 33-year-old center to a max contract is inherently risky due to performance decline or major injury that only becomes more likely in the mid-to-late thirties of an NBA player’s career. Â
Targeting Karl-Anthony Towns ultimately becomes a serious decision to consider only if there is an All-NBA leap by Caleb Wilson within his rookie contract and the Bulls are a top-tier playoff team in the East.
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