It’s that time of year again.
The beginning of the 2026-27 NBA season is upon us, with the Bulls kicking the season off against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
It’s a new day for the Bulls, headlined by the rookie campaign for hopeful star-to-be Caleb Wilson. They have a new coach in Tiago Splitter, and are overseen by a brand new front office staff. And with that blank slate come a fresh set of goals and aspirations.
Not all has changed — this is year six (!!) for the CHGO Bulls squad, and we will be back with postgame shows for all 82. But first, here are Matt Peck, Big Dave and Will Gottlieb’s preview and predictions for the upcoming season.
What are you most looking forward to from the Bulls this season?
Matt Peck: Easy. Rooting for wins instead of losses. As a pro-tanker not just last season but for the better part of the past three years, every game night was miserable. Tanking is a means to an end. I know that last season’s post-deadline experience wasn’t pretty or very fun. Some Bulls fans saw the logic in bottoming out, while others presented counterarguments for why you should never lose on purpose. Some thought the existing team had real potential. All fine.
But it created a pretty ugly rift within the true die-hard fans, while the debates and arguments rarely went anywhere productive. People seemed to be set in their opinion either way. Some of the debates got weirdly personal. It all sucked.
The Bulls desperately needed an influx of young talent if they were ever going to escape the hellish purgatory in which they existed for too many years. Whether or not Caleb Wilson will be the savior of this franchise remains to be seen. But how much better of a position are they in after landing him with a little lottery luck and the number four pick, as opposed to picking in the middle of the first round again?
All the pro-tank vs. anti-tank fighting is mercifully behind us now, thanks to a swift and severe draft lottery rule change from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The incentive for stuck-in-the-middle teams to bottom out on purpose no longer exists. As a diehard fan of this team for 35 years, I was tormented by my brain’s logic fighting against my Bulls fan’s heart. It was pure torture.
While I don’t expect the Bulls to be very competitive this season, I will be SO much happier than in “competitive” seasons past. Because I will be rooting for Ws every night.
Big Dave: For me, and Bulls fans alike, the main answer is Caleb Wilson. But also, I’m looking to see how Bryson Graham operates at the trade deadline and how he builds this team and its culture
Will Gottlieb: For the first time in nearly a presidential term, losing games will no longer be an objectively better outcome than winning for the Bulls. In fact, they’ll have to put some wins on the ledger to avoid the relegation zone, where they would own two lottery balls instead of the three they would get if they land between the fourth and tenth worst record in the league.
Luckily for Chicago, they got their guy before the rules changed. That changes everything. The cornerstone is in place. The rules changed, and with it comes a completely reshaped competitive landscape. The Bulls are now free to push for wins without the anchor of the lottery dragging them back. That’s a great thing for NBA product at large, and will make this season the most enjoyable in years.
What defines a successful season in your opinion?
MP: Development of the young talent on the roster, plain and simple. Will Matas Buzelis show us more improvement in Year 3 after a promising step forward in Year 2? Will Wilson improve from Game 1 to Game 82 in his rookie season while navigating the immense expectations on his shoulders? If we see undeniable evidence of those two things, perhaps coupled with a lucrative trade deadline deal or two, I’ll be an encouraged Bulls fan looking forward to the future.
BD: Going into previous seasons, I would have said making the play in. This year it’s simply finding who fits with Caleb Wilson. If they figure that out, for me that is success
WG: It will be difficult to quantify, but the best thing for the Bulls is to find the right balance on the spectrum of competitiveness and player development. Wilson is the primary seed the Bulls must nourish, but the roster is suddenly deep with intriguing young talent: Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Dailyn Swain, Noa Essengue and even two-ways Jaylin Sellers, Tobe Awaka and Jordan Hawkins. If any of those players can demonstrate meaningful progress, it will help inform the decisions Bryson Graham will face at the trade deadline and beyond.
Messaging from the organization has been clear: the Bulls are in a rebuild. Now, it’s about assessing the talent on the roster, acquiring assets and setting the team up for future success. All of that starts with accumulating data on the core that will be the foundation for developing a long-term plan to eventually contend.
What is your biggest concern about the team?
MP: From an X’s and O’s standpoint: Offensively, the roster still lacks a true on-ball shot creator. Late in tight games, who will be their closer? I don’t think there’s a concrete answer to that question right now. Maybe Norman Powell? Which is fine, but not exactly a long-term answer.
Defensively…point to something. The point-of-attack defense could be — in my opinion likely WILL be — very bad. Rim protection remains a question mark during Nic Claxton’s early-season absence. Assuming he returns, can he recapture his previous form after discouraging production levels over the past two seasons? Buzelis and Wilson showed us in preseason that we’ll get some highlight-reel blocks from time to time, but that alone doesn’t establish a reliable interior defense. And I predict this young team will struggle with its defensive rotations and assignments against real competition.
From a mental standpoint: I hope that if this team struggles, especially early on with a gauntlet of a schedule, that the young guys won’t get too discouraged. Nobody likes losing, especially young players who have mostly been on the winning side in their young careers as elite talents at the amateur and collegiate levels.
BD: Only concern I really have has to do with health. I’m concerned they won’t be healthy enough to figure out who fits where on this team. I’m praying that’s not the case
WG: It quickly became clear that first-round picks were not on the table in exchange for cap relief this summer. Instead, Graham turned towards acquiring players that could eventually turn into draft capital. My fear for the Bulls is that if they are on the relegation zone bubble, they may prioritize avoiding the bottom three rather than assets that can help the team’s future. That would mean holding onto their expiring contracts or team options (Powell, Buddy Hield, Zach Collins, Jalen Smith, Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro) even if picks become available, simply to prevent the bottom from falling out. That would be a major red flag for a new front office that has been preaching patience and long-term thinking.
What is your hottest take?
MP: Failing to avoid the relegation zone of the new draft lottery rules wouldn’t be that awful of a result. I know I just spoke about how wonderful it is to not be a pro-tank fan anymore, and that is 100 percent true. But given the lack of real competitive expectations this season, so what? The East is loaded this year, and only a few teams across the league appear destined to be truly bad.
With the other rule-change caveat — that teams cannot draft in the Top five in three consecutive years — and the consensus that the 2028 draft class is a much stronger crop of talent than 2027, the Bulls having lesser odds in next year’s draft doesn’t seem like such a brutal blow to their rebuilding plans.
Do I think that the Bulls will finish as one of the league’s three worst teams? Not particularly, but it’s possible. And if it happens, it has a silver lining.
BD: All the things inside me are saying Caleb for ROY. But I’ll go against that and say Matas Buzelis will be top five in blocks this season.
WG: Two of the projected starters (Buzelis, Claxton, Powell, Wilson, Giddey) will be on a different team by this time next season — and it won’t be Wilson. It may not be at the trade deadline, but I have a hunch that some major moves will be made to reshape the roster.
Predictions: Record and ranking in the East
MP: 25-57, 13th in the East.
BD: To be fair, I’m speaking from my heart on this when I say the Bulls will make the Play-In. But my head says differently. So here’s the balance: 32-50, 13th in the East (Don’t be surprised if they finish 11th. My heart had to get the last word).
WG: 25-57, 13th in the East. It’s going to be a tough year for the Bulls in my estimation. Leaning into youth development while competing in the strongest Eastern Conference we’ve seen since the Jordan era makes things tough. Add in the new lottery rules that will have most teams running through the finish line and a new front office that will be more willing to sell pieces at the deadline, and it could make for the lowest record since Jim Boylen was at the helm.
But make no mistake, those same factors should also make it the most exciting season in recent memory. With a potential franchise cornerstone churning out highlights, a new coaching staff and front office overseeing the development plan, and the rule changes that disincentivize losing, this team has a brand new feel. It will take time, but what’s left is a young group playing a fun brand of basketball with nowhere to go but up.
