The Chicago Bulls have only two preseason games left to develop their young talent before … well … they continue developing their young talent in the regular season.
Thanks to a front office overhaul, the organization has been far more honest and reasonable about its 2026-27 expectations. The Bulls are in a rebuild, and the long-term success of the franchise will take precedence over the immediate win-loss column. In many ways, that’s why this preseason action may not feel a whole lot different than what we see play out later this month.
At the same time, some things will inevitably change when the games start to matter. Head coach Tiago Splitter will want to establish a more concrete rotation, and there will undoubtedly be more pressure to begin establishing a clear style of play. Remember, the NBA Draft Lottery rules have changed drastically. Teams will no longer be rewarded for playing reckless basketball. It’s going to be in the Bulls’ best interest to be at least somewhat competitive.
With that in mind, Splitter plans to approach these final two preseason games a little differently. The head coach said this week after practice that he will look to run a stricter rotation against the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves. The goal will be to give his regulars a more familiar workload, which will almost surely mean more playing time for veterans like Norman Powell, Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro, and Buddy Hield.
Splitter admitted, however, that there will still be plenty of experimenting. And why wouldn’t there be with such a young and new roster? Especially when we consider that big man Nic Claxton and Zach Collins remain sidelined, the Bulls will have to continue to shake things up before and after they are given the green light to return.
Still, there are a handful of players we can safely assume will see 30+ minutes a night. Pushing the players further toward that threshold will begin now, as the team is officially one week away from opening night hoops in Toronto.
Expect More Leonard Miller
As Caleb Wilson dominated the highlight reel and Matas Buzelis dominated the thinkpieces, another man has run away with the preseason MVP award.
Leonard Miller has taken full advantage of his opportunities this month. He is fresh off his best outing yet against an impressive Denver Nuggets team, scoring on 11-14 shooting from the field with 7 rebounds. Miller has genuinely looked like one of the Bulls’ most dependable and complete two-way players, and it has clearly left a strong impression on his new head coach.
āI think heās doing a tremendous job, just playing at the five and the four. He can play both positions. His versatility there is awesome. He can attack slower bigs, and you talk about random basketball, I think heās great at that. Itās really hard to predict what heās going to do,” Splitter said on Tuesday.
Miller came into this offseason with a very murky future. A new front office had to decide if they would even pick up his team options for the 2026-27 campaign. Then, even after Bryson Graham chose to do just that, he entered camp with an incredibly deep roster of wings around him. All he has done since, though, is show that he deserves a meaningful role in the rotation. And Splitter’s words undoubtedly make it seem as if he has earned that.
Everything remains fluid, particularly for a team going through so much change and evaluation. But it sure feels as if we should anticipate seeing Miller play an increasingly important role for this team. The way minutes have been distributed this preseason has him ahead of both Patrick Williams and Noa Essengue, essentially making him a primary backup to Caleb Wilson.
Heck, if this does continue to be the case for Miller and the production remains steady, the Bulls may want to begin extension conversations ASAP. The forward is headed toward unrestricted free agency, so locking him in as a member of this young core sooner rather than later might be the right move. To be sure, we’re not at that point just yet, but a few weeks of strong play when the games count might make that a serious conversation.
Caleb Wilson Adjusting to Physicality
With three preseason games under his belt, Caleb Wilson has learned a lot.
The No. 4 overall pick has been thrown into the fire, as Tiago Splitter hasn’t hesitated to put the ball in his hands, and he’s also played him deep into the fourth quarter. It’s been a crash course on NBA-level speed and decision-making, which has expectedly come with mixed results.
One of the most noticeable adjustments for Wilson has been in the physicality department. Opposing teams have already treated the rookie with plenty of respect, walling off the paint when he’s looking to attack and pushing right through him when he’s lined up on defense. None of this is to say that Wilson has looked completely overpowered, but it’s clear that Wilson is realizing how much work he has to do on his body.
“Honestly, it’s going to take me getting stronger to really adjust to it. But being able to be smarter and know that I have leverage of certain people in certain positions is something that’s really big for me,” Wilson said after practice on Tuesday. “Boxing out, not being able to get pushed in the back, being more physical off the hit, like being in the right position.
You have to overcompensate when you lack in that department. I’m not the biggest guy, and I know that. But I’m working on that. I have to be in the right position when it’s time to box out, I know when it’s time to get over a screen, I can’t be standing straight up. Just stuff like that. But the adjustment has been pretty good for me. I feel like I’m making steps in the right direction, and it can only get better.”
There aren’t many rookies as introspective as Wilson. He’s obviously right to acknowledge that adding strength can be the biggest factor, but this isn’t all that goes into handling physicality properly. There are plenty of players who struggle with it to this day despite a more imposing stature. The fact that Wilson recognizes the little details that can put him in a position to succeed, let alone what he must do in the meantime to make up for the lack of strength, says a lot about the player he is and can be.
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