30 teams, 30 days: Chicago Bulls | 2026 Season Preview

Welcome to my 30 teams in 30 days series, the most comprehensive and informative previews for every team in the NBA. Inside these posts, you’ll get up to speed with every team’s offseason additions and their roster hierarchies, learn whether they’ve addressed their biggest areas of need, ponder over 5 questions that will define their season and then decide whether you agree with my offseason grades and record predictions.

Notable Additions: Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro, Noa Essengue

Notable Subtractions: Lonzo Ball

Depth Chart:

PG: Josh Giddey / Tre Jones / Jevon Carter / Yuki Kawamura

SG: Coby White / Ayo Dosunmu / Dalen Terry / Julian Phillips

SF: Isaac Okoro / Kevin Huerter / Noa Essengue / Emanuel Miller

PF: Matas Buzelis / Patrick Williams / Lachlan Olbrich

C: Nikola Vučević / Zach Collins / Jalen Smith

Roster Hierarchy:

Franchise: N/A

Core: Josh Giddey, Coby White, Matas Buzelis

Key Rotation: Nikola Vučević, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Isaac Okoro, Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Patrick Williams

Rotation: Jalen Smith, Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry

Development: Noa Essengue, Julian Phillips, Lachlan Olbrich, Yuki kawamura, Emanuel Miller

Offseason Overview:

In a world where CBA restrictions and extensions have driven free agency to near- extinction, restricted free agents started to get squeezed once the money dried up. Bulls fans have witnessed this front office extend Patrick Williams for 5-years/$90M with a player option AND extend Vucevic for $20M over 3 years, meaning it was highly likely that even with no one else bidding for Giddey’s services, CHI might offer Josh an extremely expensive raise. The FO actually inking a reasonable contract is a much-needed step in the right direction. Time will tell if Giddey is good enough of a primary ball-handler to drive winning in meaningful games, but for now, he’s a seamless ethos fit for Billy Donovan’s team that drastically helps their true potential cornerstones’ development, Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue.

Pre-Draft Areas of Need:

🥇 Paint Protection: 30th in Rim FGA Allowed (29.4/g), 30th in Opponent PITP (54.0/g)

🥈 Rim Pressure: 26th in Rim FGA/g (37.2), 26th in Paint Touches (19.5)

🥉 Defensive Event Creation: 27th in PTS off TO (15.4), 29th in Deflection %

Vucevic is still one of the worst rim protectors in basketball and there’s still a lack of defensive playmaking and rim pressure on this roster, though more Zach Collins and Matas minutes should help slow the hemorrhaging at the rim .

Season Outlook:

1. What’s the optimal ball handling split between Fox, Castle and Harper?

The short answer is no. Giddey shot 33.9% from 3 in the 48 games before the All-Star break, then jumped to almost 45% in 22 games AFTER the break. Small sample sizes are bad enough, but the extra variable of low-leverage March hoops makes this development even more dubious.

The longer, more optimistic answer is while he continued to struggle on shots he was contested, his pull-up frequency and pull up three point percentage took a big step forward, especially considering that wasn’t a part of his game at all in OKC. Josh took more pull-up 3s (51), then he did in every year prior combined. The percentages have to come with a massive grain of salt, but I do think he made strides as a shooter last year. In general, the actual percentage he shoots from 3 means so much less than the volume of 3PA. From research done by Owen Phillips, defender distance on shots is influenced by 3PA, not 3P%.

I found similar findings when analyzing how drive blow-by% correlates with 3P volume. Considering Giddey generated an explosive drive on the smallest % of his drives of any high-volume driver AND it’s unlikely he becomes a volume 3P shooter this late in his career, I think he should focus on getting more comfortable in the middle of the floor.

2. Is there any hope for this team defensively?

As mentioned in the areas of need, Chicago wants and NEEDS to play fast due to a lack of reliable halfcourt creation. The problem is they don’t have the defensive playmaking to push the pace and get in transition more often. The roster is devoid of guys with that disruptive pedigree, although Matas and Noa at least have the tools to get there if they get the positioning down.

Disruption on the perimeter is the key to this unit ever being competent defensively, but with Huerter and Ayo likely not playing starting minutes, they will continue to struggle with Vooch protecting the rim. I’m projecting this team to finish in the bottom 5 of the league defensively.

3. Will they finally move Patrick Williams, Nikola Vucevic, etc?

The Bulls have mastered holding onto players until they’re completely devoid of any value, and Pwill and Vooch are probably their magnum opuses. At this point, it’s clear Pat is grossly overpaid and a huge bottleneck for Noa and Matas to get minutes, so he needs to be the biggest priority to be traded. He played his fewest MPG, shot a career-worst -6.2 rTS% and 50%!! at the rim and provides minimum value on defense despite his 7-foot wingspan. PWill should’ve been traded last year or at least shopped during the 2025 draft for a 2nd round pick, but at this point, CHI may have to settle for a salary dump.

Perhaps CHI can capitalize on a younger team wanting to add more reliable contributors to their bench, but even if they don’t get great value back, it’s time to bite the bullet and free up these minutes for more interesting young talent.

4. What’s the next step for Coby White?

Coby improved massively as a driver, posted the highest 3-Point Attempts per 100 poss in his career (11.1) and maintained league- average efficiency (~37 3P%) all while shining as a transition scorer. There are still holes in his game as a passer and in-between scorer that he needs to clean up, but even in his current state, he’s an incredibly strong offensive complement to Giddey. The conundrum that will define this pairing however is on the defensive end, where their shared inability to contain at the POA could limit them forever as a duo.

5. How rapidly will Essengue join the rotation?

Noa will likely start his rookie year in the G-League, but he will be just a few months removed from being a consistent contributor as a teenager in a professional league. While his precociousness reared its head in the playoffs, his transition scoring ability (1.7 PTS per shot) and insane athleticism allowed him to place in the top 20 in player impact in the BBL, areas that CHI will help amplify with their emphasis on transition play. If AK does the right thing and moves on from PWill, Noa should be rightfully pencilled in for 20 mins a night.

Record Prediction

Total Wins Over/Under: 32.5 via BetMGM

Floor: 23-59 (-16 wins)

While most teams would consider finishing the season at their floor a failure, the Bulls *should* consider a record this poor a success. As much as I believe in Matas and Noa, this team is devoid of any other young talent and they badly need a T5 pick in this upcoming 2026 draft.

Ceiling: 36-46 (-3 wins)

As the first team I covered that almost ignored every single area of need, I would be surprised to see CHI finish as a play-in team this year. The East is funky enough that it wouldn’t be insanely crazy, but another play-in exit is a nightmare outcome for the Windy City.

Let me know if you agree with my predictions! What are your expectations for the Bulls this season?

Overall Grade: C

Up Next: New York Knicks