Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Pod

2026 Bulls Media Day arrived Monday to officially tip off training camp, but before that, the Bulls traded Rob Dillingham to the Hornets for Buddy Hield. Dillingham was almost immediately waived by the Hornets, while Hield will bring a veteran presence, elite shooting and a possible trade chip to Chicago. 

After breaking down the Hield trade, Ricky and Jason go through their biggest takeaways from Media Day. Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter got the ball rolling and stressed that the Bulls are at the ground floor of a rebuild and that this upcoming season will focus on development. But while there may not be a lot of wins this season, there can still be plenty of fun.

Graham also discussed his first offseason in charge and noted the trade market didn't develop as hoped when it came to acquiring more draft assets, so he used the Bulls' robust cap space to acquire vets Nic Claxton and Norman Powell to improve the floor of the team. The Bulls still have flexibility and there will be more opportunities for moves during the season, but Graham isn't going to mortgage the future for short-term gain. Graham is talking the talk so far, but he needs to prove soon he can walk th walk. 

On the injury front, Zach Collins is predictably already hurting, though he should be back relatively soon. Josh Giddey is at 100% after offseason ankle surgery, and everybody else is good to go. 

As for the biggest player storylines, everything revolves around Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis. The hype train is going full steam ahead for Wilson, though Graham wants to temper expectations and not go too overboard. Buzelis is looking forward to more "freedom" on both ends of the court, and his shot diet is going to be a big talking point this season as he looks to diversify his offensive skill set and take more mid-range shots. Fans will be paying close attention to how Splitter handles Wilson and Buzelis after complaints of Billy Donovan's short leash for Buzelis. 

How rookie Dailyn Swain bounces back from a terrible Summer League will also be something to watch, and Splitter noted it has been a night and day difference at training camp. There hasn't been a whole lot about Noa Essengue, but Splitter noted he's looking aggressive early in camp. 

The Bulls will have about a week of training camp before their first preseason game on Oct. 7 against the Suns. 

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Ricky and Jason go through the Bulls' expected starting lineup for the 2026-27 season. With training camp approaching, the projected starters are Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson and Nic Claxton. 

Giddey is facing a make-or-break season in Chicago. After a somewhat disappointing 2025-26 season, Giddey needs to prove to Bryson Graham he's a true foundational piece in order to stick around for the long haul. 

Buzelis is one of the Bulls' foundational pieces right now, and he's looking to make a leap in Year 3. What does he have to do to really break out? 

Next to Giddey in the backcourt is Powell, who's coming off an All-Star season and could be something of a mercenary with the Bulls on a short-term deal. Will the Bulls get the All-Star version or Powell and will he still be in Chicago after the trade deadline? 

Claxton was the other major veteran acquisition this offseason. Several years removed from the best season of his career, will Claxton be rejuvenated by a fresh start? Or will he continue to slip and open the door for Jalen Smith? 

Finally there's Wilson, who should be in the mix for Rookie of the Year after his impressive Summer League. 

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The Bulls are under two weeks from Media Day and the start of training camp, and they just finalized Tiago Splitter's coaching staff. The staff features a nice surprise in the form of franchise legend Taj Gibson, who just retired from the NBA and immediately returned to Chicago as a coach. Ricky and Jason talk all things Taj and why bringing him back is a good move. 

The Bulls also have a plan in place to replace Stacey King, going with a cycle of Adam Amin sidekicks throughout the season. It's a decision that makes sense given King's larger than life persona that will be just about impossible to replace. 

The discussion then turns to the Bulls' projected win total and where they stand in the Eastern Conference. While that win total has spiked since the odds first came out, it's still hard to see the Bulls being better than many teams in a suddenly loaded East. What's their ceiling? 

Finally, there just had to be a little bit of Bears talk after a 59-point season opener. 

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Jason joins Hardwood Knocks' Dan Favale for their annual Bulls season lookahead at the tail end of an eventful offseason that brought about regime change. What's to make of Bryson Graham's first offseason in charge? There was a lot of kicking the can down the road with short-term deals (Norman Powell, Nic Claxton trade, Zach Collins), making the upcoming season an important one for evaluation for new head coach Tiago Splitter before potentially bigger moves later. 

Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis are at the center of it all as they look to develop into a star forward pairing. How do they fit together and what should we expect to see this upcoming season? 

Josh Giddey also plays an important role as the point guard of this offense, and he's facing pressure to prove to Graham that he's worth keeping around as a franchise cornerstone. Giddey has improved upon many of his shortcomings, but his inconsistent last season still leaves plenty of questions about his future. 

Jason then looks at a bunch of the other young players on the roster, including Leonard Miller, Noa Essengue, Dailyn Swain and Rob Dillingham. Essengue and Swain's brutal Summer League performances put a damper on their expectations coming into the season, and it'll be interesting to see how much this group plays under Splitter. 

The end of the pod looks at a number of topics, including team needs, the rotation and lineup predictions, and season predictions. 

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After lengthy forays into restricted free agency, both Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga went off the board in the same day. Mathurin is heading to the Pelicans on a two-year, $16 million deal, while Kuminga is going to the Timberwolves on a two-year deal worth over $12 million. The Bulls were reportedly interested in both players, but did they ever really have a chance? And are the Bulls actually missing out here? 

ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported the Bulls as a team that "aggressively" pursued Mathurin via sign-and-trade, though a sign-and-trade would've required a three-year deal and Bryson Graham seemed hesitant to hand out any long-term contracts this summer. Perhaps Graham truly was willing to go that far for Mathurin, but the young guard clearly preferred the Pelicans and will be getting the Clippers to withdraw his qualifying offer in order to sign as an unrestricted free agent.

As for Kuminga, the fit didn't seem right with the Bulls even though they've been rumored to be interested going back to the Arturas Karnisovas regime. Kuminga picked a contender in the Timberwolves over more money from the Lakers, so the Bulls likely didn't have much of a chance even though Jake Fischer noted them being "involved to a real degree."

Ricky and Jason aren't shedding any tears over missing out on Mathurin and Kuminga, even at these small price points. So, how will the Bulls fill that last roster spot? Will they fill it at all before the season? Or will they take it into the season? 

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Ricky and Jason break down the Bulls' 2026-27 season schedule and make their annual game-by-game predictions. The start of the season is absolutely brutal, putting the Bulls in a position to start slow. Will that make them more likely to look to sell off certain players as the year goes on? Will a softer close to the schedule help them beat Vegas' projections? 

Plus, shoutout to the Bulls for once again killing their schedule release video. This year's was inspired by Grand Theft Auto and is a must-watch. 

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Ricky and Jason are back after a hiatus following Bulls Summer League. Since the last podcast, LeBron James surprisingly picked the 76ers in free agency, adding another bombshell move to the pile this offseason. All the crazy player movement sets up what should be a fascinating 2026-27 NBA season with plenty of potential contenders, and Ricky goes over his offseason power rankings. 

The Bulls are on the other end of the contender spectrum, but they recently popped up in free agency rumors with reported interest in Clippers restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin. While that interest was then downplayed, it's still worth looking into the possibility of Mathurin taking that last roster spot. Or could the Bulls look to pull off a sign-and-trade that would then open up more roster flexibility? 

Mathurin is a flawed player and something of a one-trick pony, but his talent could be worth the gamble on a team-friendly deal. However, the Kawhi Leonard situation seems to be holding up Mathurin's free agency, leaving the young guard in limbo. 

The guys wrap up with a look at LeBron's move to the 76ers and just how they're going to make it all work, complete with a Bulls-Sixers trade hypothetical that would help both sides.

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The Bulls finished 2026 Summer League with a 1-4 record, with Caleb Wilson, Dailyn Swain and Noa Essengue all sitting the fifth and final game out. The fourth game was an ugly affair against the Lakers, with Swain and Essengue struggling again while Wilson put up nice numbers despite a boatload of turnovers. 

Wilson producing as Swain and Essengue stumbled was a theme of the entire Vegas experience for the Bulls. While this new front office should be thrilled with what they saw from Wilson, who earned All-Summer League First-Team honors, there are red flags abound with Swain and Essengue. 

Swain simply played poorly, shooting a ghastly 4-of-31 from the field and playing with zero confidence. The rookie admitted he was overthinking on the court, and it looks like he's a long way from being ready for real NBA minutes. 

Meanwhile, the Essengue situation was just bizarre. Although he didn't play well, how the Bulls handled him suggests this new regime led by Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter aren't Essengue fans. The youngster's minutes were jerked around as Summer League went on, and Splitter was very critical of his play. 

Is Essengue already done in Chicago? While it's too soon to declare him a bust, Ricky thinks the writing is on the wall for the Frenchman's time with the Bulls. It would be a major bummer if the Bulls get absolutely nothing out of Essengue after using a lottery pick on him in 2025, but these summer signs aren't promising.

As the Bulls move past Summer League, it does seem as if the roster is mostly set. Perhaps there are more moves to be made once LeBron James makes his decision and the league springs back into action to fill out rosters, but there haven't been many other rumors out there about the Bulls doing anything else. 

As it stands, the early Vegas odds suggest the Bulls will be one of the worst teams in the NBA. That looks true on paper, but surprises do happen and the Wilson/Matas Buzelis duo should be fun to watch no matter the record. Can this pairing develop into the next great young wing duo in the coming years?  

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Caleb Wilson's dominant start to Summer League has Ricky and Jason going all in on the hype surrounding the No. 4 pick. The Bulls rookie took Vegas by storm with a historic 35-point debut against Cameron Boozer and the Grizzlies that saw him make seven 3-pointers, matching the number of triples he hit in his entire lone season at UNC. There's plenty of reason to believe this shooting improvement is real, as Wilson has been putting in a lot of work and he has been cashing in all types of looks from downtown in Vegas.

Wilson has also popped in other ways, showing some off-the-dribble juice and pulling off a number of a highlight-reel blocks. The rookie also had arguably the dunk of the summer with his poster against the Jazz. While he hasn't been perfect, with some turnover and free throw issues plaguing him at times, this Summer League run has undoubtedly been a rousing success for the Bulls' new franchise pillar. The question now is if he'll play anymore games or shut it down. 

As good as Wilson has been, Dailyn Swain has been the exact opposite. Swain has been a disaster, struggling to handle point guard duties and showing a completely inability to make shots. Swain is 3-of-26 from the field and 0-of-7 from 3 so far, missing a number of layups badly and displaying an ugly 3-point shot that needs a lot of work. His inability to finish around the rim has been especially strange given how prolific he was at Texas. 

Swain showed some better signs as a playmaker in the Bulls' victory over the Wizards, but he still missed all seven of his shots and is 0-of-16 over the last two games. Swain should definitely keep playing in Vegas to get more reps. 

Meanwhile, Noa Essengue has been a mixed bag and also should see more minutes in Vegas. While Essengue has shown tantalizing flashes as a defender, his offense is very raw and a major work in progress. He needs to get a lot stronger so he's not always getting knocked off his spots and hitting the deck, and he really needs to tighten up his handle and decision-making. 

Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter benched Essengue to start the second half against the Jazz, and then the second-year forward came off the bench against the Wizards. Is he already in the doghouse? It's not a great sign, but the Frenchman is still trying to catch up after missing almost his entire rookie season. 

As of now, it doesn't look like Swain or Essengue belong in the Bulls' regular rotation, but a lot can change by the time the season gets going. 

Finally, ESPN's Jamal Collier wrote a story exposing a number of the failures of the Arturas Karnisovas regime, ultimately highlighting the improved vibes in the building with Bryson Graham leading the show. But will the results be better? Time will tell. 

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The Bulls started NBA free agency by bringing back Zach Collins on a two-year, $17 million contract extension, and then they made their big move by landing Norman Powell on a two-year, $45 million deal. While the Collins deal seemed weird on the surface, the team option on Year 2 helps and he could be a tradable piece almost immediately. 

The Powell move was telegraphed heading into free agency, and getting him on a two-year deal with a team option is a good piece of business for a Bulls team that badly needed to add shooting. Powell is at nearly 40% from 3-point range for his career and is coming off arguably his two best seasons, making him a solid veteran addition at shooting guard. 

Ricky and Jason break down these deals and how they fit into Bryson Graham's first offseason as a whole. While it hasn't been a slam dunk, Graham has done a fine job adding both young talent and veterans, with the potential of signing another player with the room exception. Could that be Anfernee Simons? 

While there were have been some missed opportunities in the draft and with the cap space, Graham is essentially kicking the can down the road with some of these moves and hoping his first-round picks are big winners. Patience is required to see how Graham will turn out as a lead executive, and it'll be interesting to see what he does with this roster at his first trade deadline. 

Graham's perfectly fine offseason comes amid an NBA that has gone crazy with blockbuster trades. Graham needs to be positioning the Bulls to be in position to make one of those kinds of trades in the coming years, and the hope is steps will be made toward that this upcoming season. 

Of course, this upcoming season still projects to be bad record-wise given the status of the roster, which is totally fine as long as there's youth development and a building of the asset base. We'll see if Graham has any other moves up his sleeve this offseason. 

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