The former Pelicans architect arrives in Chicago with full autonomy and massive cap space to overhaul the roster.
Since the front office upheaval in early April, the Chicago Bulls have finally taken their first real step forward in their rebuild.
Per ESPN's Sham Charania, and later confirmed officially by the franchise, Bryson Graham was named the Bulls' new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. This wraps up Graham's one-season stint with the Atlanta Hawks after they closed the season in a 4-2 series loss to the New York Knicks in the Playoffs' first round.
The hire might catch some off guard. Graham entered the process as something of a wild card while Minnesota Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd — a Chicago native who began his career as a Bulls intern — led the race as the reported frontrunner. But Graham's profile proved too compelling to pass up, and the Bulls came away with a hire the industry will respect.
Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, Graham played college basketball at Texas A&M before joining the New Orleans Pelicans as a front office intern in 2010. He climbed steadily through the organization — player development, college scouting director and assistant GM — before earning the full GM title in 2024.
Along the way, Graham built a reputation as one of the sharpest talent evaluators in the league. He was in the room when New Orleans drafted Zion Williamson in 2019. He was also credited for identifying Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III in the 2021 draft, who led the Pelicans in steals and scoring this past season, respectively. He also pushed for signing Jose Alvarado as a two-way player that same year, a decision that paid dividends for years. In that same draft cycle, Graham hired Willie Green as head coach — a move that turned things around when the Pelicans made the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Sep 30, 2024; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans general manager Bryson Graham, left, and executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin take part in Pelicans Media Day at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn ImageAfter a year as Pelicans GM, Graham wrapped his 15-year career in New Orleans and moved to Atlanta last offseason to lead the Hawks' basketball operations. His tenure there was defined by bold decision-making, orchestrated a significant roster overhaul that included trading All-Star point guard Trae Young, and building a new-look Hawks team that centered around the team's leading scorer Jalen Johnson.
The Hawks finished the season 46-36 and secured the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. It's worth noting that two of Atlanta's cornerstones this season, Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who won back-to-back Most Improved Player awards in 2025 and 2026, were both originally drafted by the Pelicans on Graham's watch.
Now he brings all of it to Chicago.
Per the Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Crowley, Graham will be granted full autonomy over the Bulls' rebuild, including control of the franchise's league-high $58 million in cap space. His first order of business will be finding a general manager to work under him and identifying a new head coach to replace Billy Donovan. Those two decisions will set the tone for everything that follows.
The fit makes sense beyond the resume. After years of dysfunction between the front office and the sideline under Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, the Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf made communication a non-negotiable trait for whoever took this job, which Graham stands out for that box. Chris Finch, his former colleague in New Orleans and now head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, called Graham an "outstanding team evaluator." Reinsdorf's own statement on Monday also left with approval.
"He is an effective communicator, a disciplined and thoughtful decision-maker, and someone who truly connects with players and people. He understands today's league, today's players, and what it takes to develop talent and build a winning culture," Reinsdorf said.
Not just the draft-pick instincts, his capability to develop talent is where the Bulls need him most. Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey are the nucleus of whatever this team becomes next. Noa Essengue, who missed a majority of last season due to a season-ending injury, remains largely untapped. Adding new youngsters from the Draft in June, Graham has a large room for thriving the upcoming new-look Bulls team before next season.
An introductory press conference is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6th, the Bulls PR said. Expect Graham to make his vision for the franchise clear from the jump.