The Chicago Bulls aim to pair new front office leader Bryson Graham with Dave Lewin — or someone like him.
After hiring Bryson Graham as the new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, the Chicago Bulls aren't done building out their front office.
According to Joe Crowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are expected to push for hiring Dave Lewin, the Boston Celtics' assistant general manager, to work alongside Graham. Lewin had previously advanced to the final round of interviews for the EVP role last week — alongside Graham, Minnesota Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd and Detroit Pistons senior VP Dennis Lindsey — before the organization ultimately turned the job to Graham.
Now, rather than losing him entirely, Chicago wants to bring him back through a different door.
"Someone who could help Graham in that area happens to have already interviewed with the Bulls, impressing them with his approach to analytics and strategy. Celtics assistant GM Dave Lewin didn't get the EVP job, but there's expected to be a push to get him in the front office," Crowley wrote. His report also emphasized that if Lewin isn't available, the Bulls will pursue someone with a Lewin-ish candidate.
Lewin joined Boston in 2012 after a four-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he began as a basketball operations intern before rising to analyst. In Boston, he steadily climbed through ladder, including working as director of scouting, director of player personnel and G League general manager for the Maine Celtics from 2013 to 2017 before being promoted to assistant GM four years ago.
Working alongside team president Brad Stevens, Lewin was part of the organization that won the franchise's 18th NBA Championship in 2024.
But the championship pedigree is only part of the appeal. The Celtics' front office under Stevens has become one of the league's most respected models for sustainable team-building — drafting and developing talent internally. Lewin has spent over a decade immersed in that philosophy, and it maps directly onto what Michael Reinsdorf demanded after AKME's dismissal.
That's exactly the kind of institutional knowledge Graham needs in his corner. The offseason workload will be substantial for the Bulls, with coaching search, draft scouting, cap space decisions, etc., to be addressed.
Simultaneously, distributing that responsibility intelligently is a lesson that the Bulls should learn from the AKME era, where former VP Arturas Karnisovas and his front office operated in isolation, missing league-wide trends that deteriorated in decision-making.
Lewin's background and draft evaluation experience would directly address two of the Bulls' most urgent needs: identifying the right coaching fit and maximizing a draft class that could shape the franchise for years. Paired with Graham's credible talent evaluation, it would form a complementary duo that provides Chicago's rebuild a solid foundation, especially considering the team's league-leading $58 million cap space and two first-round picks.