Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter spoke during the Chicago Bulls' Media Day on Monday about the future of the franchise entering their first year together.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham and head coach Tiago Splitter are ready to begin the next era of Chicago Bulls basketball.
Unlike the prior front office, the Bulls' new braintrust has emphasized taking a methodical approach to the franchise's rebuild and not skipping steps. Graham and Splitter made that clear during Monday's Media Day, the first time since the NBA Draft and Summer League that the two were available to answer questions from reporters.
"Just because the word rebuild is out there doesn't mean that this can't be fun, this can't be exciting," Graham said. "We want to establish competitive standards right from the beginning. That's what we're going to be about, even if the results haven't caught up to the process. This is going to be a fun time. This is going to be an exciting time. This foundation is being laid brick by brick to bring a championship back to the city of Chicago."
The changing NBA Draft Lottery rules have allowed Graham to take a dual-faceted approach to roster construction. Chicago has a variety of young players like No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson, No. 15 pick Dailyn Swain, Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Noa Essengue and Leonard Miller. Graham has also brought in several veterans as well, such as Norman Powell, Nic Claxton and Buddy Hield, who he hopes will provide leadership to the younger faces in the locker room.
Rebuilds of years past were often founded upon the taboo idea of tanking: deliberately fielding a worse team in the short term to acquire better draft picks that will help the franchise in the long term. That strategy worked for teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, but the NBA decided it needed to incentivize winning more and pivoted in a different direction this offseason.
Sep 28, 2026; Chiacgo, Il, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter, right, speaks during media day as Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President - Basketball Operations Bryson Graham looks on. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Now, organizations are rewarded more for finishing toward the middle of the standings than at the bottom, which has led teams like the Washington Wizards, the Utah Jazz and the Bulls to acquire veteran talent. Most of Chicago's veterans — like Powell, Hield, Zach Collins, Jalen Smith and Tre Jones — are either on expiring contracts or deals with an option, making them prime trade candidates.
But even though many of those veterans likely won't be on the Bulls' roster after the trade deadline, Graham refused to acknowledge any speculation about the future. Instead, he focused on the present and how each player would benefit the Bulls' roster.
"We're here because we're building, and they understand that," Graham said. "No one's going into the season on this roster with the anticipation of, 'Am I on the chopping block today?' You're here, and you're going to be a part of what we're building. As the year goes along, we're figuring out more, we're gaining more clarity, that can lead us into a different direction. This summer, it's been about not mortgaging our future and keeping optionality and flexibility going forward. Some of these contracts that you see, that was the idea behind it."
The Chicago Bulls are set to begin training camp on Tuesday, when the young players and veterans will team up for the first time ahead of the preseason opener on Oct. 7 and the Bulls' regular season opener on Oct. 21.
Each of the players and staffers can see the franchise's six banners every time they walk into the practice facility, providing motivation as Chicago enters its long-awaited rebuild.
