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Bulls’ top free agent target after trading for Nic Claxton, drafting Caleb Wilson
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- Bulls’ top free agent target after trading for Nic Claxton, drafting Caleb Wilson
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The Chicago Bulls have made their initial moves under the leadership of senior vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham and head coach Tiago Splitter . They have traded for center Nic Claxton and selected forward Caleb Wilson with the No. 4 pick in the just-completed NBA Draft, but there are more moves to make.
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The idea is to turn the Bulls into a championship team, but that's not a realistic goal at this point. However, both Graham and Splitter are dedicated to making sure the Bulls play hard and show improvement, and the team should be active in the free-agent market if they are going to show significant progress from their 31-51 finish that left them on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff structure.
In many ways, the new Bulls leadership has a free pass in the upcoming season. They are not expected to be a playoff team in the upcoming season, so if the losing ways continue, they are not going to get blamed. It is not quite that simple because the previous regime operated in a cloud of mystery as former executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas rarely explained his philosophy to the media or the fans and the team basically treaded water during his six years in charge.
Graham has been far more forthcoming when it comes to talking to the press and communicating with the fans than Karnisovas ever was during his tenure.
Splitter had success with the Blazers under trying circumstances
Splitter had great success as the interim head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers , taking a team that had struggled for years and turning them into a playoff performer. The Blazers were eliminated in five games by the San Antonio Spurs , but they had risen from the play-in portion of the postseason to earn the No. 7 seed in the West.
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Graham was impressed with Splitter's work under somewhat dire circumstances. Chauncey Billups was placed on indefinite leave by the NBA after he was arrested by the FBI for his role in an illegal gambling scheme. Splitter was able to get the Trail Blazers to focus on the job at hand instead of their former coach's fate.
That should give the partnership of Graham and Splitter a chance to build on the team they already have. That could start with the addition of a free agent like Robert Williams III , who has been a winning player for both the Boston Celtics and the Trail Blazers.
Williams has a winning pedigree
Williams is a big man with size and strength, and he can dominate on the boards when he is healthy. He is not a big-time scorer, but he can play key minutes down the stretch. Williams averaged 10.0 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Celtics in the 2021-22 season, and he flashed some of that ability for the Blazers last year. He scored 6.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game last season while playing in 59 games and averaging 17.1 minutes per game.
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Williams is 6-9 and 250 pounds, and he can win the battle against big-time opponents. He can supply some of the toughness that the Bulls have been missing for years. Williams has an excellent chance to be a solid contributor off the bench with his ability to defend and rebound the basketball.
Williams completed a 4-year, $48 million contract last season. He should be a nice fit for the Bulls under their salary cap .
Bulls could gamble and make a run at Kristaps Porzingis
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
There's no law that the Bulls have to take small steps and just get a little bit better in the 2026-27 season. Both Graham and Splitter said they were influenced in their early years by the spectacular Bulls teams of the 1990s that won 6 NBA titles and featured Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen along with head coach Phil Jackson.
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Those teams featured some of the best talent of all-time, and that's what it takes to win in the NBA. The New York Knicks won this year's title as they followed their superstar leader Jalen Brunson . That came a year after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove Oklahoma City to the championship and two years after the superstar duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum did the same for the Boston Celtics.
Kristaps Porzingis has played 10 years in the league and he has been brilliant, at times. His best moments have often been diminished by lower-body injuries.
When he is healthy, the 7-2 center can score inside and outside and deliver scintillating passes. He averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for Washington in 2022-23 and 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Celtics in 2023-24. He played a key role for Boston as the Celtics earned their first championship in 16 seasons that year.
It would be a gamble to bring Porzingis into the fold, but it could pay huge dividends if he was able to give the Bulls 45-50 games next season.
Related: Bryson Graham vehemently defends trading both 2nd-round picks amid criticism
Related: Caleb Wilson forcefully rejects "disrespectful" Kevin Garnett comparison
