It might be difficult to sense the proximity of it all — with Josh Giddey’s contract negotiations still ongoing and the NFL season now grabbing hold of the Chicago streets — but Chicago Bulls basketball is on the horizon.
In a little more than four weeks, training camp will start. After a relatively quiet offseason in Chicago, curiosity might be muffled among those who’ve grown weary of the Bulls’ not making major leaps. But with a pivot in direction after February’s All-Star break, the Bulls will enter October with questions, both season-long and immediate.
All will eventually need to be answered. Let’s take a look at a handful of those questions:
1. How high is Matas Buzelis’ ceiling? How highly does this front office view his ceiling?
The question should be written on Artūras Karnišovas’ forearm, a reminder when the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations does almost anything. It’s the question currently central to his build. If this regime isn’t going to fish for ping-pong balls and can’t reel one in otherwise, Karnišovas’ creed comes into question. Is there a franchise player in the building to develop?
If the Indiana Pacers are the template, the Bulls should eye their foundation. Tyrese Haliburton was grown in the Pacers’ lab, accentuated by other quiet, system-defining acquisitions they made. A slow burn, but one that aided a star with a volatile ceiling. At his best, Haliburton looked like a top-12ish player leaguewide and an even better clutch performer. Indiana’s offense is activated by his retina scan, though the lineups without him — those composed of players assembled with him in mind — hardly seemed to dip. And to think, Haliburton might be on the lower end of first options capable of leading a team on an NBA Finals run.
Do the Bulls think they house a player like that? Or can incubate one to the point of hatching? Should they even hinge their hopes on that? If Buzelis ends up closer to Pascal Siakam in terms of impact, that’s a major win. He’d be a talented second option capable of raising the ceiling for a team that didn’t necessarily need an All-NBA first-teamer. Even a future as a third option would make Buzelis a prize. But it should go without saying that if a player on that track is leading a team, it won’t be to the finals.
Can Matas Buzelis be the face of the Chicago Bulls franchise? (David Richard / Imagn Images)
Buzelis feels like a fine litmus test for what the Bulls think they have in-house and what they think they’re capable of as team builders long-term. It’s possible to invest in him while remaining hungry.
2. What’s the plan for establishing a defensive identity? How much of their offensive identity are they willing to sacrifice?
General manager Marc Eversley rightfully wants to develop defensive DNA. As of now, there are hardly fingerprints among this team, smudges maybe. But good-to-great defenses in the NBA require so much more than being tactical and giving a verbal commitment.
Talent, voices, IQ, versatility, bodies, chemistry, unison. A good defense often requires a good offense now. The Bulls have at least prioritized that end of the deal.
Personnel-wise, a good-to-great defense asks for several archetypes. A shot blocker, or at least someone who alters attempts and keeps ballhandlers mindful, should be atop Chicago’s shopping list. You need a disruptor, preferably a wing, who can make plays defensively and create offense. A stopper, someone you hand your toughest assignments to and ask to contain the ball, is helpful but harder to find. (Perhaps he and the disruptor are the same player.) You need at least two players who can comfortably scale out of position, two who can guard smaller or larger players. Then again, all defenses aren’t created equally, and some are allowed to play a certain way based on who they’re built around.
What made the Oklahoma City Thunder’s lineup so masterful was that they had all the necessary archetypes. Some slots on the depth chart were overkill. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a model team defender for a player with the least dependency in a lineup, let alone for a player of his caliber. Oh, and he’s 6 feet 6.
I scan the Bulls roster, attempting to check those boxes, and shrug. Not only are they mostly unfilled, but that’s before considering the guys who fill these roles on the NBA’s elite teams are also competent ballhandlers or positive offensive contributors. Even Lu Dort has grown to knock down series-changing moon balls.
Isaac Okoro feels like the obvious candidate to be the guy who stacks all the difficult assignments, especially if he ends up starting. His jumper and offensive reliability will determine how large a role the Bulls can give him.
Ayo Dosunmu is a solid defender. Buzelis projects as someone who can defend multiple positions, a lengthy athlete who could aid a rim protector from the help side. Tre Jones, though undersized, seems capable of holding his own and is capable of steadying an offense, which should compensate for any aforementioned issues.
That’s a short list of Bulls players who are positive defenders and could also stick offensively in most situations around the NBA. Buy-in is an early step for this team, but talent needs to be hoarded, and there’s only so much internal development to go around.
Among those already in Chicago, it’s essential that Noa Essengue gets up to NBA speed and shape. His potential scalability, play style and length could mark a leap for this team’s offensive identity. But Bulls fans have learned by now not to hold their breath.
3. What will the Bulls do with Patrick Williams?
Karnišovas is on record, dating to his days in Denver, as a man who likes to see things through once he starts them. His front office left the remnants of the 2021 team on his plate until it got cold. Now, there are four seasons remaining on a Williams deal that appears even colder. Decisions, decisions.
The Bulls sought Okoro, specifically with the idea of establishing their defensive identity. Chicago has had a penchant for collecting questionable shooters in recent years, but one can assume the Bulls snagged Okoro with the hope he’ll improve there, and that this new chapter will see him turn a page toward impact. It’s not a one-on-one proposition, but Okoro’s emergence does seem to make things murky for Williams.
Many eyes will be locked in on the play of Bulls forward Patrick Williams for the upcoming season. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Not to say the two can’t play together — or that the Bulls won’t try it — but it’s not exactly aligned with the progressive, fast-paced, post-All-Star break offense. It would be wise to leave no stone unturned with lineups, considering it’s unclear how many trade-worthy assets the Bulls actually have. But rehabbing the value of either Williams or Okoro feels significant.
It probably makes more sense to nudge Williams into showing value in Year 2 of his deal as opposed to later.
4. What kind of player/archetype does the front office view as worthy of being the head of the snake?
Beggars can’t be choosers. When you’re pleading for the basketball gods to spare a franchise player, you can’t possibly fix your lips to detail the kind of player you desire. When the Bulls find an elite player of such ilk, or someone they think could be in proximity, they’ll accept what they have.
With all the underscoring of in-house improvement, maybe Karnišovas does think so highly of Buzelis that he’ll cling to his flashes of hope and promise. Perhaps his fingers are crossed for Coby White taking another leap. Perhaps Karnišovas sought Giddey and cradles Buzelis because he believes they’re the kind of running mates befitting of the superstar that is somewhere out there. (Maybe in a Big 12 gym far, far away.)
Otherwise, he’d be sinking his teeth into his own words. “Internal development” has a crunch to it. He pointed to White’s and Giddey’s development at season’s end. Would he settle for the fully developed versions of them as the players who head the Bulls? One a scorching scorer, the other a large playmaker, both fitting cogs for the team’s new offensive direction. Neither screams the capability of leading a playoff team.
Which raises the questions: Where will Karnišovas get said player? And does he hope for someone that’ll slot next to them or bump them over entirely?
5. Is Derrick Rose deserving of his jersey retirement?
I haven’t asked myself this question nearly as often as I’ve seen the rest of the internet.
My answer: Yes. And on Jan. 24, 2026, why not?
The Boston Celtics, a far more storied and accomplished franchise, have retired 23 jerseys. That leaves players to select from some nasty combinations. The Bulls, on the other hand, have retired just four prior: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan and Bob Love. Four obvious answers, with room for one more that feels obvious had injuries not gnawed at his prime.
January 24, 2026 🌹
Join us for Derrick Rose Jersey Retirement Night when we officially add No. 1 to the United Center rafters. pic.twitter.com/WvuNMEwWkn
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) August 21, 2025
Rose is the youngest MVP in league history. One from the city’s South Side. One who was bred there instead of dashing off to a prep school. One who was instantly beloved by the fans, even if things turned sour and his glory days didn’t quite last.
His prime was shrouded by injury. Not time, not an opponent, not repetitive shortcomings. Genuine misfortune. And still, Rose peaked as one of the best players to ever wear the uniform. For the 2010-11 NBA season, he led the only 60-win Bulls team since the 1990s dynasty, marking the most blissful era for basketball fans in the city since then. His youthful heights saw him as a spunky adversary for the Miami Heat’s Heatles.
He was a hometown kid who elicited hope, even if just for a moment. Why not freeze that moment in the rafters?
(Top photo of Derrick Rose: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)