The Chicago Bulls underwent drastic changes this offseason, adding three new starters, a new front office leader and a new coach. This makes better days easier to envision even though the Bulls once again appear positioned as neither a legitimate Eastern conference contender nor a doormat entering the 2026-27 NBA season.
First-year coach Tiago Splitter, who successfully led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA playoffs in an interim capacity last season, takes over for Billy Donovan. Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham arrived from the Atlanta Hawks and acquired impact veterans in Norman Powell and Nic Claxton. The biggest reason for optimism, however, might be forward Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
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After years of holding on to a core that was only good enough to be a play-in team, the Bulls have finally turned the page while retaining potential foundational players in Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey. If Wilson has an immediate impact, Chicago can suddenly look forward to one of the East’s most intriguing young trios.
Here’s a breakdown of the Chicago Bulls‘ offseason moves and what to expect from them heading into the 2026-27 NBA season:
CHICAGO BULLS SCHEDULE: Dates, times and opponents for 2026-27 season
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Record last season: 31-51 (12th in Eastern Conference)
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Playoff finish: Did not qualify
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2026-27 title odds: +75000 (per BetMGM)
Key roster additions
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F Caleb Wilson (No. 4 pick in 2026 NBA Draft)
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F Dailyn Swain (No. 15 pick in 2026 NBA Draft)
Key roster losses
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G Anfernee Simons (free agent)
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F Guerschon Yabulsele (free agent)
Biggest question entering training camp
Is Caleb Wilson the franchise cornerstone the Bulls have been searching for since Derrick Rose?
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Wilson was widely regarded as one of four elite prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft, and he’s the most likely to emerge as a star from the Bulls’ rebuilding pivot. The success of Chicago’s new direction will largely depend on Wilson’s development over the next several seasons and a productive rookie campaign is especially important for this new regime after 2025 first-round pick Noa Essengue struggled to gain traction last year.
Projected starting lineup and rotation
Starters
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G Norman Powell
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F Caleb Wilson
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C Nic Claxton
Rotation players
What to expect in 2026-27 season
It’s been more than a decade since the Bulls won a playoff series and that’s unlikely to change this season. But the franchise has more optimism than recent years with the arrivals of Wilson and Powell to help Buzelis and Giddey. Expect this group to hover closer to .500 than last year, with the chance to push for one of the East’s last playoff spots if the new pieces come together quickly.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago Bulls season preview: Lineup, roster and prediction
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