Tonight, the Bulls are back in action!
Oh, what a wait it has been. An incredibly active offseason brought an overhauled front office, a new coaching staff and nearly half a new roster. In theory, this season could be a very fun one. Low expectations, but a quality roster that could surprise us with some impressive stats, highlights and, hopefully, plenty of wins.
But once again, before we officially kick off the new era of Bulls basketball, we need to look back at Billy Donovan’s coaching style from last season and why Matas Buzelis was so critical of it.
Plus, Derrick Rose supporting the Bulls, a potential Zach Collins return date, a big-name free agent potentially linked to Chicago, some love for Jordan Hawkins and more!
Let’s talk Bulls basketball.
Bulls center Zach Collins. Image Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Training camp has been a goldmine of content, especially when it comes to some of the non-trivial questions about the upcoming season that we want to know about but don’t necessarily want to waste a question on. And that starts with the weird love-hate relationship between Matas Buzelis and Billy Donovan. At the end of last season, when it seemed like Billy’s future with the Bulls was hanging in the balance, Matas wanted him back and even pitched his case for keeping the Hall of Fame coach around.“I told [Billy Donovan], ‘I hope you don’t leave,’” Matas said. “I’m riding with you forever. You’re a cornerstone for my career and I don’t want you to go anywhere.”
And since then, Matas has alluded to his time under Billy being somewhat restrictive on multiple occasions. So much so that even Tiago Splitter has acknowledged that Matas will have a longer leash to play with this season. And yesterday, Matas reiterated that point again.“Last year was extremely hard. There was no type of rhythm. We didn’t know who was playing. We didn’t know how we’re gonna play. Now there’s gonna be more structure, everyone’s in a role. You know what you get every night.”
Not the most incriminating stuff compared to some of the other things he’s mentioned over the offseason. But it does feel like Matas doesn’t look back at his first two seasons as the most conducive environment when it came to developing his offensive game. And, in part, that seems to be tied to Billy Donovan’s “win first, develop later” sort of ideology. However, that doesn’t mean Matas doesn’t respect or love the former Hall of Fame coach. In fact, he even defended Billy last night on X against fans who seemed to think otherwise.Speak about stuff that you understand… Billy is family and that will never change.
— Buzi (@BuzelisMatas) October 7, 2026 Also coming out of training camp has been an update on Zach Collins. With the Bulls set to be without Nic Claxton for a couple of weeks, Collins would be a much-needed addition to a rapidly dwindling big-man rotation. Collins did participate in a full practice with the Bulls today and, according to Tiago Splitter, is getting close to a return.“We got Zach, who’s probably close to a comeback but not 100% yet.”
That return can’t come soon enough, either. Tobe Awaka is expected to get a solid minutes bump with Collins and Claxton sidelined, while the Bulls look to preserve Jalen Smith as much as possible. Also from Bulls training camp, the newest two-way signing, Jordan Hawkins, attended his first Bulls practice yesterday.Jordan Hawkins is here pic.twitter.com/3YZpPemIsR
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) October 6, 2026 Chicago made the signing official yesterday and, in a corresponding move to bring in Hawkins, waived Isaiah Stevens. The announcement of Hawkins definitely had one person excited, and that was his former college coach, Dan Hurley. Hurley took to social media to talk about how a new location could help “free” the “Hawk.”The Hawk is finally free!! This is the opportunity that he needs and must take advantage of…. t.co/nadpoS3DGI
— Dan Hurley (@dhurley15) October 6, 2026 And finally, out of Bulls training camp was a Bulls legend in attendance, one who has stayed around Chicago sports ever since his retirement. Former MVP Derrick Rose attended another Bulls workout, and he seems to be all in for this season. I love how Rose has become somewhat of an ambassador for the team now, someone who’s genuinely willing to show up and support the Bulls whenever he can.D-Rose pulled up to watch today's practice ? pic.twitter.com/nRZyMdycp1
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 6, 2026 Outside of Bulls training camp news, Chicago has been linked to signing a former NBA champion and All-Defensive player. According to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace is expected to command a deal that exceeds $30 million annually if he hits restricted free agency. And unless the Thunder shed some salary, I doubt they’d want to pay that premium and push themselves further into the second apron. The Bulls will be one of the teams capable of offering that sort of money to Cason, and he might fit like a glove in Chicago. Think of a younger version of Alex Caruso on a team that already has other good defenders around him. Yes, teams get skittish about throwing big money at a player who has never averaged more than 10 points per game. But in OKC, Wallace’s role is to be a pesky, lockdown defender, and he plays that role to a tee. $30 million is definitely a bit steep, but if we see good promise and a clear defensive identity from a young core featuring Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis, maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.Brandon Miller, Cason Wallace, and Brandin Podziemski are among the handful of players eligible for a rookie-scale contract until Oct. 19 at 6pm ET. My latest for @ClutchPoints on these extension talks, updates for each player, as well as predictions: t.co/Z4Lxna1Z5I
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) October 6, 2026BULLS ON BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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