It’s not that anything wrong was said during Wednesday’s Chicago Bulls introductory press conference for new head coach Tiago Splitter. All the right things were indeed said by the coach and his boss, Bulls lead front office executive Bryson Graham. High standards, competing, culture, more good stuff, motivational words, of course, vision. You get my point.
What would have coalesced the presser messaging a bit more for my tastes would have been reasonable disclosure of how the Bulls' braintrust of Graham & Splitter intend to realize their shared vision for presumably taking the Bulls from point A of a rebuild to point B of winning basketball.
Splitter shared a fair point that once the Bulls have a full roster, then the shared vision realization details will ultimately become easier to articulate. In the interim, there are goals that the Bulls front office and coaching staff alike should commit to in the 2026-27 NBA season to advance their turnaround of the Chicago Bulls.
Matas Buzelis earns NBA All-Defensive Team selection
The national NBA media paid close attention to Bulls wing Matas Buzelis during his 2025 NBA preseason campaign, which was well stocked with highlights.
Buzelis’ 2026 NBA offseason will include international basketball reps with the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team. Matas Buzelis is primed for a breakout that catapults him to national NBA recognition, and it is Buzelis’ defense that should catalyze that recognition.
Buzelis is an elite weak-side rim protector, and Splitter should hold Buzelis accountable for impacting all facets of NBA defense besides shot blocking.
If Buzelis can seamlessly defend on and off the ball, consistently fight through screens, and exhibit defensive anchor tendencies to keep his other four Bulls teammates in tight rotation, there should be an NBA All-Defensive team selection waiting for Buzelis at the end of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Josh Giddey challenge: become a league-average pick-and-roll ballhandler
To Splitter’s credit, he’s on record as being a basketball coach who does not prescribe an offensive system to his players and instead builds a system around the capabilities of his players.
Josh Giddey is a below-average NBA pick-and-roll ball handler, and while it’s good for Giddey if Splitter can figure out an offensive scheme that works around Giddey’s pick-and-roll limitations, Splitter should also challenge Giddey to grow into a median percentile ball handler coming off ball screens.
Noa Essengue leads the Bulls in free-throw attempts per game
Effectively a red-shirt rookie, there is no real NBA expectation yet for Noa Essengue, given he appeared in a total of six NBA game minutes during his rookie 2025-26 NBA season. Given Essengue’s qualifications in the size, length, and athleticism department, a logical development goal to start Essengue's career should be to put him on a path to demonstrating NBA-caliber physicality.
One of the best ways Essengue can become a Bryson Graham SLAP-guy is to find ways to get to the free-throw line on a nightly basis and ideally lead the team in free-throw attempts.
The Bulls team leader in free-throw attempts mantle is up for grabs with the 2026 NBA trade deadline exit of guard Coby White, who led the team with 5.3 free-throw attempts per game according to Basketball Reference.
For additional context, the bottom of the 2025-26 regular season NBA top-20 players list in terms of free-throw attempts, according to Basketball Reference, starts with Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo’s 5.8 free-throw attempts per game. Essengue in six (free-throw attempts per game) should be the goal for the 2026-27 Bulls season!
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