The Chicago Bulls have wasted no time in putting together their new-look front office. Chicago added Bryson Graham as the new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, and he subsequently hired former Orlando Magic Assistant GM Stephen Mervis as the new VP of Basketball Ops and former Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder exec Acie Law as Chicago's new VP of Player Personnel.

Chicago is likely not done with their front office moves, as they have not named a new general manager. But with Mervis--who is slated to deal with the salary cap--and Co. in tow, the Bulls have likely already founded their plan to attack free agency. 

With the Bulls slated to be one of four NBA teams with salary cap space this offseason, Chicago should be a major player for any of the top free agents should they choose to go after them. 

ESPN's Bobby Marks recently released his list of the top-20 free agents this offseason, with five centers--and two former Bulls--making the list. All five of the big men on Marks' list make a ton of sense in Chicago, so we decided to breakdown each option and assign a score on a scale of 1-10 in terms of how realistic is it for that player to land in Chicago.

Williams is the fifth ranked restricted free agent in Marks' rankings. Williams is coming off of his first season as a member of the Phoenix Suns. Williams possesses a 7-foot-6 wingspan and a ridiculous 9-foot-9 standing reach, one of the highest in NBA Draft Combine history. 

This list contains a few game-changing defensive-minded centers with injury woes, including Williams, and unlike some of the other names, Williams is trending in the right direction health-wise.

In his lone year in Phoenix, Williams averaged 11.7 PPG, 8 RPG, and a combined 1.8 steals + blocks per game while shooting 64% from the field and 77% from the free throw line. The rebounds were the lowest since his rookie season, but he did play a career-high 60 games for the Suns. 

With Williams manning the backline, the Suns finished with a top-10 defensive rating (9th, 112.9) and a top-10 (6th) Offensive Rebound Rate.

Future Chicago Bull Rating (out of 10) = 9

Kessler is a name that most Bulls fans are quite familiar with. The 7-foot-2 center was a player many thought Chicago would snag when he entered the draft back in 2022, but the Bulls passed on Kessler--as well as Christian Braun and Jake LaRavia--to take Dalen Terry 21st overall.

Since entering the league in 2022, Kessler has been one of the more prolific shot blockers in the league. He averaged a whopping 2.3 blocks per game his rookie season, 2.4 BPG the next two seasons. He was averaging 1.8 BPG for the 2025-26 season, before his season was shutdown to address a torn labrum. 

Obviously, Kessler has had a full season to recover and will also have this upcoming offseason to get back to 100%. 

Should Kessler show he is back to full strength, the Bulls would be lucky to grab him this offseason. He averaged a career-best 12.2 RPG last season, leading the league in offensive rebounds per game (4.6). The Bulls are a team that simply does not grab offensive boards at a high rate. Kessler's activity would do wonders for a roster that is not full of knockdown shooters, and could use someone to clean up misses in the paint. Chicago very clearly struggles to lockdown the painted area, and having the 7-foot-2 Kessler would provide the type of rim deterrent the Bulls haven't had in years.

Future Chicago Bull Rating (out of 10) = 7

In terms of players who solve the Bulls issues directly, Duren isn't a perfect fit. He was a big part of a Detroit Pistons team that played excellent defense but is not a player you think of as a rim protector, as evidenced by his 0.8 BPG this past season. 

Duren has incredible agility and overall athleticism for a player with his dimensions. The burly, 6-foot-10, 250 lb. Duren can move his feet well and function in a variety of defensive schemes.  He can play drop back coverage, or move well enough to provide a hard hedge and get back to his man. He also showcased a much more robust offensive game this season, finishing with 19.5 PPG on 65% shooting from the field. 

Detroit, coming off their best season since 2008, will surely match any figure for Duren. But after a lackluster playoff showing that saw his scoring average drop to 10.2 PPG, Chicago could try to craft a big enough offer sheet to at least make Detroit come to the negotiating table. 

Future Chicago Bull Rating (out of 10) = 4

Mitchell Robinson is coming off of 60 games played for the New York Knicks in the regular season. That is most games he has played in the regular season since 2023.

The 19.8 minutes per game he played were the lowest he's played in his career--feeding counting last season in which he played 17 games at 17.1 MPG--but it was surely a factor in him playing as much as he did. 

Robinson still proved to be effective in limited minutes, shooting 72.3% from the field, with averages of 5.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.2 BPG. 

Per 36 minutes, Robinson is averaging 10.4 points, 16.1 (!!) rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. 

If given an expanded role, the production would clearly be great, it's just a matter of how long his body holds up. 

Future Chicago Bull Rating (out of 10) = 9

I'll keep this one short because between the oft-injured bigs, I think Chicago would go with Mitchell Robinson over Robert Williams III, but the opportunity will certainly be there.

Williams--affectionately known by the online NBA community as "Timelord"--is coming off of a 59-game season, a massive success for him. The 59-games played by Williams this season is the most he has played since the 2022 season. 

He only played 17 MPG this past season with Portland, but he was effective with 6.7 PPG, 7 RPG, and a combined 2.1 steals + blocks per game. Based off of recent history, Williams is simply not a player that can be depended on for an expanded role of 20+ MPG on a regular basis. 

If Chicago was to strike out on all other options, a very obvious overpay wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to acquire Williams' services, as the Bulls owe it to their roster construction to find a legitimately effective rim protector. 

Future Chicago Bull Rating (out of 10) = 6