This summer, Chicago Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham laid a solid foundation for the future. Now it's up to head coach Tiago Splitter to figure out how the pieces fit — and that all starts with Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis.
Graham must've thanked his lucky stars after jumping up to No. 4 in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, where he selected Wilson. The 19-year-old has done nothing but make Graham look like a genius since, putting on a show at summer league and acing his media sessions.
It's become clear already that Wilson is a player the Bulls will build around.
But don't forget about Buzelis, who, before this summer's draft, was Chicago's obvious franchise cornerstone.
Splitter appears to have two future superstars at the heart of his roster. If the Bulls are going to compete for championships again, he must rapidly learn how to develop them correctly — individually and as a duo.
Bulls will need Tiago Splitter to learn how Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson fit
Wilson was the most important addition Graham made this offseason; his partnership with Buzelis will shape the franchise's direction. But the former North Carolina star isn't the only player to move into the Windy City in the last few months.
Veteran guard Norman Powell was brought in to provide some much-needed scoring and to space the floor around the aforementioned pairing. Graham finally upgraded the center spot by trading for Nic Claxton and made guard Dailyn Swain the No. 15 pick in this year's draft. Zach Collins was re-signed and Leonard Miller's team option was picked up.
Those are all important pieces. But they're ancillary to Buzelis and Wilson.
But how do the two fit together? Both are 6-foot-10 jumbo wings. Both are explosive athletes. Both are terrors in transition. They're interchangeable, to a point, because they share many of the same attributes.
That will help Splitter mesh the pair together. But it will also cause him some headaches.
Neither Buzelis nor Wilson is a consistent 3-point shooter at this stage. That will allow defenses to clog the lane and take away what both of them do best — get to the rim and finish.
Neither are high-level ball-handlers. Wilson is bound to cough it up when he tries to dribble through traffic, and for as much as Buzelis has improved, he still has a ways to go. Both are also slim and will get pushed around on the glass by bigger players.
Wilson is only 19 years old, and Buzelis is just 21. Both have plenty of growing to do, but if the Bulls are going to compete for titles, these two will have to take them there.
Splitter has to walk a fine line of developing them individually while also helping them become dominant as a duo.
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