Chicago Bulls Central

Are the Chicago Bulls done making moves, or is Bryson Graham keeping one chair open for a reason?
On today’s Chicago Bulls Central, Haize breaks down why the Bulls may enter the regular season with their 15th full-time roster spot open. After days of smoke around Bennedict Mathurin, including reported interest from Chicago and praise from the Bulls’ coaching staff, local reporting has suggested that the interest may be overstated. That does not completely kill the possibility, but it does make the Bulls’ bigger priority clear: flexibility.
Haize explains why keeping the final roster spot open may line up with Bryson Graham’s front-office philosophy. Instead of rushing into a restricted free-agent sign-and-trade or adding a veteran just to fill the bench, Chicago could preserve flexibility to help facilitate trades, take on salary, or collect future draft capital if the right opportunity appears.
Then the conversation gets bigger: Should the Bulls be watching the Orlando Magic and a potential second-apron crunch involving Paolo Banchero? If Orlando ever reaches a point where Banchero becomes available, should Chicago be aggressive even if the fit with Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson is imperfect?
Plus, Haize looks ahead to 2027 free agency and why the 2026–27 season may be an evaluation year that determines whether the Bulls eventually pursue a player like Mathurin, Peyton Watson, or Jalen Duren.
🔥 Topics include:
Why the Bulls may keep the final roster spot open
Bennedict Mathurin interest cooling off?
Why flexibility may matter more than filling spot No. 15
Bryson Graham’s salary-dump/draft-capital strategy
Why Paolo Banchero should be on Chicago’s radar
Banchero’s fit with Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson
Is 2026–27 an evaluation season for the Bulls?
Mathurin vs Watson vs Duren as future targets
How Caleb, Matas and Claxton shape the 2027 plan
Why the Bulls should avoid forcing the wrong move
🎧 Tap in with Haize on Chicago Bulls Central for the full breakdown!
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Can Josh Giddey lead the NBA in assists next season? It may sound bold, but the numbers say the conversation is real.
On today’s Chicago Bulls Central, Haize breaks down why Josh Giddey does not need an unrealistic statistical explosion to enter the assist-title race. Giddey averaged 9.1 assists in only 32.1 minutes per game last season, trailing league leader Nikola Jokić by just 1.6 assists per game. He did not officially qualify because he played only 54 games, but on a raw per-game basis, he would have ranked behind only Jokić and Cade Cunningham.
Haize compares Giddey to the last three NBA assist champions: Jokić, Trae Young and Tyrese Haliburton. The recent assist-title range has been roughly 10.7 to 11.6 assists per game, meaning Giddey likely needs to add about 1.6 to 2.0 assists per game to become a true favorite.
The Bulls’ new roster gives him a real chance. Norman Powell gives Chicago a proven shooting scorer, Nic Claxton gives Giddey a vertical lob threat, Caleb Wilson is built for transition, cuts and hit-ahead passes, and Matas Buzelis could become the secondary scoring partner that turns more Giddey reads into assists.
Plus, Haize lays out what Giddey must do to actually win the assist crown: play enough games, reach the 10.7 to 11.0 assist range, remain Chicago’s clear primary initiator, improve his scoring gravity and cut down the wasteful turnovers.
🔥 Topics include:
Can Josh Giddey lead the NBA in assists?
Giddey vs Jokić, Trae and Haliburton
Why availability is the first hurdle
How Norman Powell helps Giddey’s assist numbers
Why Nic Claxton changes the Bulls’ pick-and-roll geometry
Caleb Wilson as a perfect transition target
Matas Buzelis as Giddey’s secondary scoring partner
Why Chicago’s pace already supports assist production
What Giddey must clean up to reach 11 assists per game
Giddey’s realistic and high-end projections
🎧 Tap in with Haize on Chicago Bulls Central for the full breakdown!
Podcast Links: https://linktr.ee/BullsCentralPod
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Chicago Bulls fans keep saying the team should follow the blueprint of the Thunder, Spurs, Knicks or Pacers — but here’s the problem: none of those teams followed the same blueprint themselves.
On today’s Chicago Bulls Central, Haize breaks down why the Bulls cannot simply copy another franchise’s rebuild. Oklahoma City converted established stars into historic asset value, San Antonio landed a generational prospect, New York identified Jalen Brunson before the league fully understood his ceiling, and Indiana retooled around Tyrese Haliburton instead of tearing everything down. The real lesson is not copying one path — it is identifying your own advantage and becoming aggressive at the right stage of your own timeline.
Haize explains what the Bulls can actually borrow from each team: asset discipline from OKC, development standards from San Antonio, star identification from New York, and style-based roster building from Indiana. But Chicago cannot copy OKC’s Paul George trade return, San Antonio’s lottery luck, New York’s Brunson leap, or Indiana’s Haliburton trade.
The Bulls are still in the discovery stage with Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, Nic Claxton, Dailyn Swain, Rob Dillingham, Noa Essengue, Leonard Miller and the rest of the young core. Before Bryson Graham makes a massive consolidation trade, Chicago must figure out who the organizing talent is, which young players fit together, and which players are true core pieces versus useful assets.
🔥 Topics include:
Why “copy the blueprint” is the wrong Bulls conversation
What OKC, San Antonio, New York and Indiana actually did differently
Why Chicago cannot copy another team’s luck or leverage
Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson as the discovery-stage core
Why development must be competitive
How veterans should support the rebuild
When Bryson Graham should become aggressive
Why the Bulls’ next star move must complete the core — not fake progress
A real Bulls-specific blueprint: identify, define, separate, consolidate, sustain
🎧 Tap in with Haize on Chicago Bulls Central for the full breakdown!
Podcast Links: https://linktr.ee/BullsCentralPod
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The Chicago Bulls may not be done looking for young talent — and the Bennedict Mathurin rumor could be a sign of how Bryson Graham is thinking.
On today’s Chicago Bulls Central, Haize breaks down four young wild card guards the Bulls could monitor in the near future: Brice Sensabaugh, Scoot Henderson, Reed Sheppard, and Bub Carrington. None of these names should be treated like guaranteed targets, but each one raises an important team-building question for Chicago.
Could Brice Sensabaugh become available if Utah’s guard rotation gets crowded around Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey and Isaiah Collier? Could Scoot Henderson become a buy-low swing if Portland’s guard room tightens with Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Shaedon Sharpe? Could Reed Sheppard be the dream shooting fit next to Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson if Houston’s win-now push creates an opportunity? And could Bub Carrington be an overlooked floor-spacing guard if Washington prioritizes AJ Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and Will Riley?
Then Haize gets into the bigger question: What should the Bulls do in February?
If Chicago is competitive but sitting around the 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th spot in the Eastern Conference, does Bryson Graham buy, sell or stay patient? The previous Bulls front office repeatedly got trapped in the middle. Graham’s challenge will be knowing whether progress means adding help, selling veterans like Norman Powell or Nic Claxton, or simply letting the young core develop without overreacting.
🔥 Topics include:
Bennedict Mathurin rumor fallout
Four young guards the Bulls could target
Brice Sensabaugh as a scoring swing
Scoot Henderson as a buy-low gamble
Reed Sheppard as a perfect shooting fit
Bub Carrington’s floor-spacing upside
Bulls trade deadline strategy
When Chicago should buy
When Chicago should sell
Why patience may be the mature move
How Bryson Graham can avoid the old front office’s mistakes
🎧 Tap in with Haize on Chicago Bulls Central for the full breakdown!
Podcast Links: https://linktr.ee/BullsCentralPod
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Email: BullsCentralPod@gmail.com
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Phone: ‪(773) 270-2799‬

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Can Tiago Splitter turn the Chicago Bulls into a top-15 defense immediately? Haize breaks down why the Bulls finally have the defensive personnel to make a real jump after allowing 121.5 points per game last season, ranking 28th in the NBA. With Nic Claxton, Isaac Okoro, Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, Dailyn Swain, Leonard Miller and Tre Jones, Chicago now has far more size, length, versatility and defensive tools than the group that finished 31–51.
Haize also looks at what Splitter’s Portland defensive success could mean for Chicago. Portland used multiple coverages, controlled shot quality, finished fifth in blocks, allowed the sixth-fewest made threes, and ranked 14th in defensive rating. Now the question is whether Splitter can transfer those principles to a Bulls roster built around Claxton’s rim protection, Okoro’s point-of-attack defense, and the weak-side length of Buzelis and Wilson.
Then the conversation shifts to the Bulls’ rotation battle. The starting five looks clearer with Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Caleb Wilson, Matas Buzelis and Nic Claxton, but the bench and “outside looking in” group could get ruthless fast. Players like Rob Dillingham, Dailyn Swain, Patrick Williams and Noa Essengue may have to fight for every minute under a new front office and head coach with no loyalty to the old regime.
🔥 Topics include:
Can Tiago Splitter build a top-15 Bulls defense?
Why Nic Claxton changes Chicago’s defensive floor
Isaac Okoro as a matchup specialist
Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis as defensive playmakers
What Splitter’s Portland defense showed
Why the Giddey-Powell backcourt could still be attacked
Bulls rotation depth entering camp
Leonard Miller vs Patrick Williams
Noa Essengue’s path after Summer League
Which Bulls players are already outside the rotation
🎧 Tap in with Haize on Chicago Bulls Central for the full breakdown!
Podcast Links: https://linktr.ee/BullsCentralPod
Get at us:
Email: BullsCentralPod@gmail.com
Twitter:@BullsCentralPod
Phone: ‪(773) 270-2799‬

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