New Chicago Bulls executive vice president Bryson Graham chatted with Chicago Sports Network’s Cam Smith and Kendall Gill to talk all things Bulls, ahead of the club’s United Center home opener — an eventual 124-120 defeat to the Washington Wizards.
Graham’s biggest new hire, head coach Tiago Splitter, delivered Graham the game ball after the first win of this new era, a 132-125 dub over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
On His ‘Synergy’ with Tiago Splitter
“He knows where we’re at within the growth plate of our team,” Graham said. “There’s so much alignment and synergy with the both of us — with growth, with development, with pouring into this team, knowing we’re obviously at step one in this.”
Splitter, who posted a 42-39 record with the Portland Trail Blazers last year after taking over from an indicted Chauncey Billups, has been toggling his rotations to make the most out of a flawed Bulls roster.
He’s been trotting out all-bench lineups in second quarters, which hurt Chicago in Game 1. Still, the approach possibly saved the team in Game 2 after the starters got the Bulls into a deep hole against the Bucks after the opening quarter. The starters have been hampered in part due to point guard Josh Giddey and forward Matas Buzelis being relatively inefficient and tuned out to start games.
Splitter also hasn’t been shy about embracing his preferred lineups to close out games. Notably, in that Milwaukee win, Giddey and Buzelis were glued to the bench as Splitter mixed and matched starters Caleb Wilson, Norman Powell, and Jalen Smith along with Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro, and occasionally Leonard Miller.
On Embracing a Team Approach to His Front Office
“I just want to make it always clear to everyone that I work with that it’s about the Bulls. It cannot be about me. It can’t be about Tiago. It’s an entire organization,” Graham reflected. “It’s every single person in the organization… I’m humble enough to know that… I don’t want to be the smartest guy in the room. And yeah, it’s not about me, it’s about the Bulls.”
Graham also noted that his front office “team” comprises some holdovers from the prior administration (including, of course, John Paxson), a very Bulls-y move (or Lakers-y), and sort of strange on its face.
If the prior administration was bad enough to get fired, why hold on to any of those key decision makers?
Chicago Bulls forward Caleb Wilson.On Caleb Wilson’s Development from Game 1 to Game 2
“I mean, look, we got rolled that first game. Toronto’s a really good team, they’re really aggressive. They have [an] identity built on defense and physicality. They kind of shook our guys. It shook Caleb. He had nine turnovers that first game,” Graham said. “He came out with such a focus, and already understanding where the holes were at from Game 1 — and he adjusted. And that was really, really, really, really cool to see. I’m really, really pleased with how he approached that second game ’cause the kid wants it.”
Immanuel Quickley’s strong two-way play stood out in the Toronto Raptors’ 43-point obliteration of Chicago on Wednesday. Wilson did score 16 points in the defeat, but he posted a horrific -45 plus-minus and couldn’t hope to contain his covers on defense. His lack of bulk was particularly pronounced against stronger Raptors wings like RJ Barrett, Kawhi Leonard, and Scottie Barnes.
On Caleb’s ‘Relentless’ Diligence
“He’s such a hard worker and he’s relentless. And he wants to be great, he really does. It’s not fake, it’s genuine. So after games, I’ll get a text,” Graham raved. “Or even after a practice, he’ll say — I’m sure he’s doing this with other coaches as well — ‘Hey, what did you see? What do I need to work on?’ He is extremely humble.”
This commitment to asking Chicago’s brain trust for feedback almost daily is stunningly cool. It’s unclear if any other Bulls players have this developmental ethos, but given how much growth we’ve seen from Wilson between Game 1 and that Game 3 loss to Washington, maybe Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey in particular should give Graham a call.
Next up for Chicago is a clash against the Paul George-era Boston Celtics on Monday. The Bulls face an intimidating slate of 10 games against likely playoff clubs, before easier tilts against the Brooklyn Nets and the Wizards again.
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