A proper roster rebuild is on the horizon for the Chicago Bulls, which started with a thorough front office house cleaning in April 2026. Out goes the Arturas Karnisovas administration, in comes the Bryson Graham Bulls front office administration.
Also in April 2026, Billy Donovan resigned as Bulls head coach. May 2026, the Bulls jumped to the fourth pick of the 2026 NBA lottery, after already receiving a bonus 2026 first-round pick (15) from the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Bulls are fortunate to have hired Graham as their new front office head after he spent the 2025-26 NBA season in an Atlanta Hawks front office that delivered a master class in terms of acquiring surplus draft picks one year before Graham’s arrival in Atlanta.
The Hawks principally acquired guard Dyson Daniels and two first-round picks for guard Dejounte Murray during the 2024 NBA offseason, while cashing in wing De’Andre Hunter at the 2025 NBA trade deadline to acquire two first-round pick swaps and three second-round picks along with forwards Caris LeVert and Georges Niang.
Graham’s work once he joined the Hawks front office was equally masterful, trading back in the 2025 NBA Draft to select forward Asa Newell with the 23rd overall pick, plus a pick swap that delivered the Hawks the eighth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, in exchange for sending the 2025 13th overall pick to the New Orleans Pelicans to select center Derik Queen.
The trade is a resounding win for the Hawks as it enabled the franchise to acquire a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft despite a much-improved 46-win 2025-26 season that returned Atlanta to the NBA Playoffs as a six-seed after a two-season absence.
Here’s why surplus NBA draft picks matter to rebuilds
Additional draft NBA draft picks and, to a lesser degree, pick swaps to acquire better future draft positioning are the hallmarks of strong NBA front office assets. The Bulls’ previous front office regime’s roster transactions rarely prioritized surplus draft capital, and, as a result, the Bulls languished behind their peers who pulled off successful roster rebuilds over the last six NBA seasons.
Look no further than the newly minted 2025-26 NBA Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks, who acquired an elite 3&D wing in OG Anunoby simply by adding a Detroit second-round pick to wing R.J. Barrett and guard Immanuel Quickley during the 2024 NBA trade deadline season.
The Knicks followed up the Anunoby deal in the 2024 NBA offseason by using a total of six first-round picks, one first-round pick swap, and three second-round picks across two trades that delivered the final pieces of the title-contending core in center Karl-Anthony Towns and wing Mikal Bridges.
When it comes to draft assets, the Bulls need to select and develop their own picks well, and if they aspire to contend, one day they’ll need to own another team's picks.
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