The Chicago Bulls hire a respected salary cap strategist to bolster Bryson Graham's front office.
After setting their sights on the draft pool, the Chicago Bulls are now finalizing the people who will actually work it.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday, the Bulls hired Steven Mervis as their new Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations, pairing with newly-appointed EVP Bryson Graham. The move comes alongside another addition as the Bulls have also finalized a deal with Acie Law as Vice President of Player Personnel, reported by Michael Scotto first, who was part of the Oklahoma City Thunder organization that won the NBA title in 2025 as Director of Amateur Scouting.
Together, the two hires give Graham a revamped front office group that is taking real shape.
Mervis brings 12 years of experience with the Orlando Magic, where he climbed steadily through the ranks — from Assistant Director of Basketball Strategy to Director, then Vice President of Basketball Strategy and Evaluation, before most recently serving as Assistant General Manager. In that role, he acted as a vital bridge between the coaching staff, the scouting department and executive leadership. His speciality throughout was strategy and player evaluation, and he carried that reputation well beyond Orlando.
Per The Stein Line's Jake Fischer, Mervis is considered one of the "more regarded cap minds" in the league — a backbone of the annual Tulane Pro Basketball Negotiation Competition. Sporting News' Stephen Noh described him as an "extremely smart executive" who is "strong" in trade negotiation and general strategy.
For a Bulls team carrying approximately $54.4 million in cap space this offseason — following a 31-51 season and the securing of the No. 4 draft pick — having a respected cap expert at the table is nothing but better.
Coincidentally, he spent eight of his twelve years in Orlando overlapping with Matt Lloyd, the Timberwolves GM who was the reported frontrunner for Graham's EVP role before Chicago ultimately pivoted.
Law's path to Chicago runs through a different but equally relevant lane. He held scouting and draft-focused roles with the Sacramento Kings and Thunder from 2018 to 2025, and was part of the OKC infrastructure that built one of the league's most gifted rosters through the draft. He also played four NBA seasons himself, including a stint in Chicago during the 2009-10 season, and perhaps most notably, he was Graham's teammate on the men's basketball team at Texas A&M.
With Mervis handling cap strategy and roster construction and Law taking charge of the draft pipeline, Graham's front office is starting to look more deliberate. What comes next for the Bulls is a new coaching group.