The Chicago Bulls have now officially found a direction as they enter a time of major overhaul. After hiring Bryson Graham, formerly of the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks, as their lead executive, they've now brought in Tiago Splitter, who spent last season as the interim head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Although many fans' first choice might've been Sean Sweeney, the defensive architect for the San Antonio Spurs' recent NBA Finals run, Splitter is an excellent hire. His background in player development with the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets create an impressive résumé for a coach his age, and his pedigree as a former NBA player should help him command immediate respect in the locker room.
In 2025-26, he helped elevate the Trail Blazers' group of young players into a playoff-ready squad. Although they were bounced in five games by the Spurs, virtually the whole roster took impressive strides under Splitter.
Now, as Splitter heads to Chicago, he'll try to push that same penchant for development and unity under Graham's distinct vision of athleticism and defensive upside across the roster. With the right coach now in place, it takes a massive burden off the Bulls' shoulders in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Tiago Splitter's player-development pedigree means the Bulls can take larger swings in the Draft if the situation calls for it
As great of a blessing as the fourth and 15th overall picks in the Draft could prove to be for Chicago, it's hard to blame Bulls fans if they're a bit wary. Under the old front office, the organization had a reputation for fumbled selections, especially at the top of the lottery.
This class is deep enough, though, that the Bulls shouldn't be able to get it completely wrong, at least in theory.
At the top of the lottery, Chicago will be left with whomever out of the defined top-four— AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson— falls into its lap. Although Wilson would likely be their top realistic choice at fourth overall, there's room for any one of these prospects (perhaps apart from Dybantsa) to be available when the Bulls come on the board.
If Chicago had gone with a coach without a player-development pedigree, this decision may have been more fraught. Take a prospect like Wilson, for example. His game has lots of flaws right now, but his physical tools and his offensive upside are absolutely undeniable. He needs a patient coach and the right situation to develop into a star, and not every team has that. The Bulls do after their hire of Splitter.
It even opens up additional options at 15, including taking larger swings on prospects with higher-upside like Nate Ament, Karim López, or Chris Cenac Jr.
If there were pressure to rush the rebuild in any sense, a more league-ready prospect like Bennett Stirtz or Christian Anderson may have been the correct move there. But as long as the organization has confidence in Splitter's player-development capabilities, the Bulls could end up as major beneficiaries of a top prospect's fall outside of the lottery.
In short, Splitter's hire gives the Bulls more than just clarity prior to the NBA Draft. It gives them a clear vision for where the organization is heading, and that's a valuable thing to have with two top-15 selections under your belt.
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