Is Bryson Graham's Plan for the Bulls Already Hitting a Speed Bump?

The Chicago Bulls may have to adjust their plans.

When Bryson Graham took over the franchise earlier this summer, he was handed a shockingly clean slate. Rarely do new front office leaders get to step into such a flexible opportunity. Oftentimes, executives like Graham are handed a pretty messy situation, one that can take years to clean up.

Graham, however, can make his mark on this organization from the jump. Does that mean he should be stomping on the gas and trading for the next disgruntled superstar? Of course not, but it does mean whichever direction he wants to take is essentially at his disposal ... or so we thought.

From the moment Graham arrived, he proved he was different from the previous front office. Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley would have rather chugged an anchovy smoothie while getting kicked in the you-know-what by Benny the Bull than embrace a rebuild. Graham uttered the word in his opening press conference.

The executive vice president of basketball operations has repeatedly implied that this could be a multi-year process. And he's done it through both his words and actions. An example of the latter was signing both Norman Powell and Zach Collins to two-year deals with a team option. He wants to keep his options open and maintain long-term flexibility as his young players develop. That's rebuilding, folks.

Graham has even brought up multiple times that he would be open to using the Bulls' financial freedom to take back bad contracts in exchange for future assets. It's something that many rebuilding teams have found success doing in the past. In fact, it felt almost inevitable that the Bulls would go down this road in some capacity this offseason. But here we are.

The NBA is only a little over a month away from training camp, yet Bryson Graham has failed to use his wiggle room to take on additional money. He technically did a variation of this when acquiring Nic Claxton in the three-team deal with Brooklyn. However, Claxton was absorbed entirely into Chicago's cap space and came alongside zero picks or players.

The current NBA doesn't seem nearly as eager or willing to dump money. Perhaps that changes real soon, specifically with the tax aprons still a major concern. However, it also seems possible that these new lottery rules have made teams far more hesitant to deal picks.

Could the Bulls still pull something off before the season comes to a close? Sure, and we talked about how Denver could be a possible match earlier this week. We also can't rule out the idea of them striking a deal mid-season.

However, if this offseason has taught us anything so far, it's that those opportunities that almost always used to be there for rebuilding teams might not be as frequent anymore.

Will the Market Make Bryson Graham Pivot?

Jun 17, 2026; Chicago, Il, USA; Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham (R) introduces Chicago Bulls new head coach Tiago Splitter (L) during a press conference at Advocate Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Look, Bryson Graham wasn't only relying on absorbing bad money to propel his rebuild forward. But it sure seems like it was part of the plan, and rightfully so. Again, this has been an effective way for teams to add meaningful draft capital or additional young players for years. Why wouldn't the Bulls give it a try?

The current NBA doesn't seem nearly as eager or willing to move money around. Perhaps that changes real soon, specifically with the tax aprons still a major concern. However, it also seems possible that these new lottery rules have made teams far more hesitant to deal picks.

Adam Silver has officially made it so that the bottom three teams in the NBA are now handed worse lottery odds than those who sit 4-10. Then, those who make the Play-In Tournament with a No. 9 or No. 10 seed get the same odds as the worst three teams. The No. 7 and No. 8 Play-In teams get one lottery ball.

In other words, the odds have been flattened significantly, making the value of picks much harder to judge. If a competitive team has an injury-riddled or down year in the future, they can at least feel decent about their chances of climbing in the lottery, even if they remain in the Play-In picture. In past years, those same teams would have had something like a 5.0 percent chance or worse to jump up, making them feel far better about that pick's value.

We also may reach a stage where there is less bad money out there. Teams are getting savvier with their negotiating and contract structures due to the first and second apron restrictions. To be clear, the rich are still getting richer, but those multi-year middling deals that can sour quickly may be shrinking.

Regardless, the proof is in the pudding, at least for this offseason. Very few players have been moved strictly for financial reasons. More specifically, essentially no one has been moved with first-round draft capital attached. This isn't particularly great news for Graham as he plans to keep his options open and build from the ground up.

Indeed, the Bulls may need to start thinking hard about other ways to accumulate future assets. Can they build up Norman Powell's stock enough to flip him? What about Nic Claxton? Might they be able to package their second-rounders together for a youngster, perhaps a restricted free agent?

At the end of the day, Graham was brought to Chicago to adjust on the fly better than the previous regime. Let's see how he can navigate a market that is potentially less kind to rebuilding squads.

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