And there you have it.
After a 149-128 shellacking at the hands of the similarly drain-circling Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, it’s curtains for our Chicago Bulls’ 2025-26 season.
Chicago wraps up the year with a 31-51 record, good for the ninth-worst sum in the league and thus the ninth-best odds of landing the top pick in a stacked 2026 NBA Draft, per Tankathon. Now, the Bulls will look to convince head coach Billy Donovan to stay in the Windy City long-term, as they continue to search for fresh front office leadership.
Chicago’s next president and general manager will have their work cut out for them. Five Bulls will hit unrestricted free agency, one has a team option, and it’s possible that none will ever be an All-Star. So there might be a ton of turnover.
Let’s take stock of how everyone did with some old-fashioned player grades! We’ll cover all 18 players who finished the year on the Bulls roster — in alphabetical order.
A note: when I grade players here, it’s going to be with an eye towards their play for their role or current level. For instance, a C for a two-way or briefly elevated G League guy would be quite different than a C for a starter.
Matas Buzelis
Stats: 16.3 points (.463/.349/.786 shooting), 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 blocks, 0.7 steals; 77 games played Contract Status: Two years, $13.3 million remaining (rookie-scale salary)The Chicago native was a full-time fixture in Billy Donovan’s starting five, throughout some turbulent roster churn this season. Although he did get more touches when vets Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic were given the boot, he didn’t have as many explosive scoring nights as fans might have been hoping to see.
Along with Dosunmu, Buzelis was one of the few draft bright spots from Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley’s Chicago tenure. It’s hard to get a great sense of how he’ll perform within a more balanced roster, having played mostly alongside a preponderance of ball-dominant guards.
Matas can go up up up ? pic.twitter.com/e4opLsSxbo
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) April 11, 2026Unlike most of this roster that’s still under contract next year, Buzelis has flashed some significant defensive upside, too. He is, by far, the most exciting prospect on this team. But his on-court play didn’t take quite the leap we wanted to see.
Letter Grade: B Should He Be Back? Absolutely. A hyper-athletic, 21-year-old second-year forward under team control who has missed an average of 3.5 games thus far deserves to stick around.Zach Collins
Stats: 9.7 points (.578/.429/.700 shooting), 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists; 10 gamesContract Status: Unrestricted free agent (UFA)
The veteran reserve center was a trade throw-in when AKME finally got off the exorbitant contract of former two-time All-Star swingman Zach LaVine.
Thanks mostly to some unimaginative roster construction, Collins became the team’s top rim protector while the Bulls were still competing. Somehow, AKME opted not to waive him or trade his expiring deal at the trade deadline, and so we were saddled with his dead cap money even though he had already been ruled out for the year with a toe injury.
Collins appeared in all of 10 games this season. It marks the fourth time throughout his nine-year career that he’s appeared in 28 or fewer games. As a floor-spacing big man who can protect the post, he’s a talented player, but at 28 we know what he can be — and what he can’t.
Letter Grade: DShould He Be Back? Please no.
Rob Dillingham
Stats: 9.6 points (.428/.300/.743 shooting), 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.9 steals; 30 games Contract Status: Two years, $15.7 million remaining (rookie-scale salary)Along with, uh, Jaden Ivey, Dillingham was one of the two marquee ex-lottery selections being brought back by the Bulls following a flurry of underwhelming deadline trades.
He’s been a tantalizing and at times frustrating watch. But the 21-year-old former No. 8 selection in the 2025 NBA Draft has the downhill footspeed and athletic tenacity to at least remain an enticing young talent.
Rob Dillingham with the steal and slam.@robwitdashiftss | @CHSN__ pic.twitter.com/8fbujWSKXl
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2026Dillingham never consistently cracked the Minnesota Timberwolves’ roster before being dealt to Chicago in February. The Bulls owe it to themselves to see what he can do.
Letter Grade: CShould He Be Back? Yes. This is another former recent lottery pick with high upside, who like Buzelis won’t even reach restricted free agency for two more years.
Noa Essengue
Stats: 0.0 points, 0.0 rebounds, 0.0 assists; two games Contract Status: Three years, $19.9 million remainingAKME’s final first-round draft pick was this raw French forward, still just 18 at the time. Essengue was the second-youngest player in the 2025 NBA Draft, behind only Cooper Flagg.
While the upside of the selection at No. 12 was supported by pundits at the time, Essengue barely played last year before undergoing a season-ending shoulder surgery in December. He’s got plenty of upside, but clearly needs to add muscle.
Letter Grade: I/C Should He Be Back? Of course! This is the guy we drafted over potential All-Rookie Second Teamers Maxime Raynaud and Derik Queen, and allegedly selected instead of trading for the New Orleans Pelicans’ unprotected 2026 pick. We need to see what this guy can do with more runway.Josh Giddey
Stats: 17.0 points (.448/.364/.502 shooting), 9.1 assists, 8.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals; 54 games played Contract Status: Three years, $75 million remainingGiddey put up a whopping 13 triple-doubles this season. He also averaged a near-triple-double for the year! While the stat-stuffing might have been inflated, the 23-year-old Aussie still offers plenty of intrigue as an oversized, pass-first point guard.
Questions remain about his defense. His 3-point shooting was good last year, too, but felt a bit fluky. Giddey connected on 37.8 percent on 4.0 takes in 2024-25, albeit while he was fairly open. This year, he nailed 36.4 percent of 5.2 looks a night from deep. He may really have improved long-term. That’s important. Since he’ll likely never be an elite defender, his offensive game needs to be beyond reproach. Can he actually be a lead guard on a winning team?
Letter Grade: B Should He Be Back? Maybe. He’s a fun young player with upside, but if Chicago’s new front office wants a more defensively inclined option or believes one of the many intriguing guards in this year’s draft has a higher ceiling, Giddey’s semi-expendable.Mouhamadou Gueye
Stats: 8.0 points (.545/.200/.750), 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals Contract Status: Restricted free agentThe Bulls only promoted G League player Gueye, 27, earlier this week to flesh out their very banged-up frontcourt. He showed up in just two contests, playing a solid 22.7 minutes.
Gueye may not be a long-term NBA player at this stage, but he was a fun watch when he did play.
Grade: CShould He Be Back? No.
Tre Jones
Stats: 14.1 points (.553/.315/.841 shooting), 5.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals Contract Status: Two years, $16 million remainingAt 26, Jones is NBA-middle-aged. There had been some chatter that he could be on the move at the deadline, but ultimately he languished with the Bulls. His dynamic play helped the season’s home stretch somewhat tolerable.
It's the Tre Jones show today ?He's got 27 PTS to lead the Bulls heading to the final 4 minutes pic.twitter.com/TFlglIiR9r
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) April 5, 2026He’s never been a strong shooter from distance, but is a very efficient downhill scorer and a relatively mistake-free passer (1.4 turnovers per).
Letter Grade: B+ Should He Be Back? Sure. He’s a solid, reliable vet on what’s presumably going to be a very young, raw roster. So, as a stabilizing force and possible mentor, Jones makes sense. But if the Bulls can also extract solid draft equity for him, they may want to sniff around.Yuki Kawamura
Stats: 3.4 points (.327/.297/.895 shooting), 2.6 assists, and 1.8 rebounds; 18 games Contract Status: Two-way signing, restricted free agentAdam Amin mentioned during the Mavericks broadcast that Kawamura was weighing his 2026 Summer League bid against his obligations for the Japanese national team.
Still just 24 and in his second NBA season, Kawamura may have more room to develop into a more sustainable bench role. He can get hot as a jump shooter from time to time, and is a highlight reel-level passer.
Yuki with back-to-back threes ?@KawamuraYuki | @CHSN__ pic.twitter.com/O8KtjstnwW
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2026 Letter Grade: B+ Should He Be Back? No. The Bulls have enough guards. They should save their two-way slots for undrafted rookies or other, younger players.Mac McClung
Stats for the Bulls: 6.0 points (.390/.250/.786 shooting), 1.1 assists, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals; eight games Contract Status: Two-way signing, restricted free agentThe three-time Slam Dunk Contest champ did manage to play more significant minutes with the Bulls this month as their season wound down, but his play in Chicago wasn’t really the main story of his tenure in town.
McClung earned his second G League MVP award this year, thanks to his superlative play with the Windy City Bulls in Hoffman Estates. His 3-point shooting has proven streaky at the next level, but his above-the-rim playing style and scoring within the paint have proven lethal in fits and starts.
Letter Grade: B Should He Be Back? No. It’s time for the 27-year-old to graduate to a standard roster deal somewhere, even though he needs to build out the 3-point shooting. McClung might be best served playing on a club with a timeline more aligned with his own, and not a retooling Bulls squad.Leonard Miller
Stats for Chicago: 11.7 points (.555/.356/.762 shooting), 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists; 27 games Contract Status: $2.4 million team optionMiller proved to be the most watchable new addition from AKME’s rash of deadline deals.
Another skinny big man, the 22-year-old has a springy burst and relentless energy that have helped Chicago fans stomach the end of a brutal final stretch of hoops. Like every modern big, this one can knock down a 3-pointer.
Bulls Leonard Miller 17 PTS (7-11 FG, 2-3 3P), 9 REB, 3 AST in 23 minutes vs. Rockets t.co/ANedKse7da pic.twitter.com/GwmvoWlxxr
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) March 24, 2026Although he’s started a ton of games with the Bulls, his NBA future likely would be as an eighth or ninth man on a contender.
Letter Grade: B Should He Be Back? Yes. Let’s see how he does on a more well-rounded roster next year.Lachlan Olbrich
Stats: 2.4 points (.468/.105/.375), 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists; 37 games Contract Status: Two-way signing, restricted free agentChicago traded down in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft for no discernible reason, opting to use the No. 55 pick to select the Australian big man. During the aforementioned Dallas blowout loss, Olbrich logged his first-ever double-double and triple-double, a 10-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist surprise that needed some lobbying of attendant officials from the entire Bulls bench to happen.
Lachlan Olbrich secures his first NBA triple-double for his career ? pic.twitter.com/nNj2mdHCho
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2026That big night didn’t really change his generally underwhelming rookie season stats. All told, he’s an undersized, energetic big who may be too raw to become a roster mainstay.
Letter Grade: C Should He Be Back? Yes.Isaac Okoro
Stats: 9.3 points (.460/.330/.795 shooting), 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals; 63 games Contract Status: One year, $11.8 millionOkoro, an offseason trade addition, was one of the few plus defenders on the current roster. As is his wont, Donovan played the 6-foot-4 wing out of position at small forward, and often tasked him with defending an opponent’s top scorer.
Isaac Okoro vs. Pelicans tonight:+318-10 FG24 PTS5 REB2 BLKHis best game as a Chicago Bull ? pic.twitter.com/0SNBid3UDQ
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) January 1, 2026Still just 25, Okoro like Patrick Williams is another 2020 NBA Draft lottery pick. But unlike Williams, Okoro has at least turned into a useful 3-and-D rotation cog. He’s not a big part of the Bulls’ future, but maybe Chicago can flip his expiring contract next season.
Letter Grade: B- Should He Be Back? For trade purposes, yes.Nick Richards
Stats with Chicago: 9.4 points (.523/.278/.630 shooting), 7.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks; 20 games Contract Status: UFAAfter being stuck watching Nikola Vucevic fail to protect the rack or pose any kind of lob threat for five years, the Bulls’ trade deadline acquisition of Nick Richards was deeply satisfying to see — just from an on-court, basketball perspective.
Finally, Chicago had a rim-rolling, two-way big at its disposal! Of course, Richards was stuck on an ill-fitting roster that was belatedly embracing the tank. Still, when available, he provided a fun old-school center punch.
But Richards also has inadvertently become a haunting reminder of what could have been. Chicago briefly had brought in promising young big Ousmane Dieng, before ultimately shipping him out to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-team trade with Phoenix. Dieng actually could have been a part of the Bulls’ future. Richards is already in their past.
Letter Grade: B Should He Be Back? Yes, but he probably won’t be.Collin Sexton
Stats with Chicago: 17.5 points (.482/.410/.822 shooting splits), 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists; 26 games Contract Status: UFAAt the deadline, the Charlotte Hornets flipped Sexton for, essentially, a better version in Coby White. When the Bulls didn’t divulge an injury, Charlotte added insult to injury by withdrawing one of its second-round picks.
Chicago fans immediately wondered why the Bulls were playing Sexton big minutes. The 27-year-old was a win-now piece saddled on a win-now later club. Sexton, like Jones (you’re probably sensing a theme here, we sure were), is another undersized, downhill ball handler who doesn’t shoot consistently from deep. He was at least able to pad his stats on a rudderless Bulls team, so kudos to him on his next deal.
Letter Grade: B- Should He Be Back? No.Anfernee Simons
Stats with Chicago: 15.2 points (.438/.320/1.000 shooting), 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds; six games Contract Status: UFASimons survived just six games in Chicago before the Bulls “found out” he had been playing with a wrist fracture since the preseason. One wonders if the Boston Celtics had divulged that intel before making the deal — or if the Bulls’ medical staff or lackluster front office were just aware of it and looking to take on an expiring contract they could sit.
Is Sexton or Simons the better player? That’s a bit of a push, as both are undersized, ball-dominant 27-year-old guards who don’t defend much and will probably play significantly smaller roles if they sign with contenders. But at least Sexton played.
Letter Grade: D+ Should He Be Back? No.Jalen Smith
Stats: 10.2 points (.483/.373/.742 shooting), 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 blocks; 53 games Contract Status: One year, $9.4 million remainingHandily this writer’s favorite remaining Bull after Chicago traded away Dosunmu and White, Smith seemed to really settle in once Donovan shifted him primarily to a starting power forward gig.
Jalen Smith: 16 pts (6-11 FG), 8 reb, 2 stlFew matchups are tougher than against 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and Stix was a massive difference maker for the Bulls scoring 13 first-half points to get the team going early. pic.twitter.com/KaMpVqujMh
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 18, 2025Smith was a bit miscast as a five. At “just” 6-foot-8, he lacks the size to protect the rim. While he’s pretty long and at least a committed defender, he’s without the strength to bang against the biggest bodies in the league. Smith’s lateral quickness, however, makes him a fun mismatch for power forwards.
Letter Grade: B+ Should He Be Back? Yes please!Patrick Williams
Stats: 7.0 points (.372/.347/.720 shooting), 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals; 72 games Contract Status: Three years, $54 million remainingAfter six miserable (for us) years in Chicago, Williams is the longest-tenured Bull.
The ineffective combo forward saw his minutes slashed, despite Chicago desperately needing frontcourt production. As injuries began mounting, though, Williams did see more run late. He’s had a big night or two, but for the most part he’s been his usual, frustrating self.
Letter Grade: D- Should He Be Back? Ideally no, but good luck moving that money.Guerschon Yabusele
Stats for Chicago: 10.0 points (.405/.383/.767 shooting), 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists; 26 games Contract Status: UFABilly Donovan weirdly insisted on playing Yabusele — all 6-foot-7 of him — at center, even with better options like Richards available. Clearly, Yabusele’s floor-spacing acumen (he was a 35.2 percent shooter this year from long range on 2.9 triple tries per), coupled with Donovan’s love of small-ball lineups, are a dangerous combination for Bulls fans. Although it may have helped us lose a few games.
After floundering in New York, Yabusele did rehab his free agent value on a tanking team. At 30, the Frenchman doesn’t seem likely to be a part of the club’s future.
Letter Grade: C Should He Be Back? No. He’s gone.Hence then, the article about 2025 26 bulls roster report card grading a team that will mostly be gone in july was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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