As September nears, the Chicago Bulls still only have 14 players projected to be on their active roster. New head executive Bryson Graham was rumored to have shown interest in free agents Peyton Watson, Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga, but none of them ended up signing in the Windy City.

The free agent pool is now much thinner. If Graham wants to go into the season with all 15 roster spots filled, he'll have limited options to do so. But is that what Chicago's head decision-maker wants?

With Watson, Mathurin and Kuminga off the board, there's a scarcity of good, available free agents. Former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons is aiming to make his NBA return, but the injection of a non-shooting forward into Chicago's young, developing core could stunt its growth.

Several other veterans could provide end-of-bench minutes and/or mentorship to the Bulls. Guard Gabe Vincent, who spent last season split between the Lakers and Hawks, projects to be one of the top targets for contending teams looking to sign someone to a veteran minimum deal. Players like Maxi Kleber, Kelly Olynyk, Jeff Green and Kevin Love will also be sought after to round out lineups around the league.

If the Bulls want to take another shot at a young player redemption project, recently waived Cam Whitmore could present an opportunity to do so. Whitmore averaged 12.3 points per game on 35.9% shooting from deep as a rookie in Houston, but his scoring and shooting slumped last season with Washington. His three-point accuracy dropped to 28.6% and the 6-foot-6 wing struggled to get playing time for the league-worst Wizards.

Whitmore was shipped to Cleveland in the Watson trade and subsequently waived, making him an unrestricted free agent. Although his play has trended downward since his rookie year, Whitmore is still only 22 years old and fits Graham's S.L.A.P. principles.

From his opening press conference onward, Graham has repeatedly emphasized how much he values financial flexibility. That's especially important at this stage of Chicago's rebuild, in which the franchise has loads of cap space and can add draft capital by absorbing bad contracts.

The Bulls likely already know that the players currently on their roster are going to receive the most playing time. Adding a 15th player would potentially provide veteran mentorship, but not much else, compared to the benefits that open roster space offers. In the era of the second apron, Chicago may be able to absorb a bad contract or two from a desperate trade partner that it couldn't if that spot is taken by a player who doesn't see the floor anyway.