Our Chicago Bulls have hired a new front office leader ahead of this weekend’s NBA Draft Combine! It’s 39-year-old former New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks executive Bryson Graham, who’ll now serve as the Bulls’ senior executive vice president of basketball operations.
We’ve already taken deep-dive looks at Graham’s recent draft and trade results with his prior two stops, since he was elevated to an assistant GM role under then-Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin in 2019.
Now, let’s take a look at how Graham has opted to allocate his teams’ free agent money across the same interim. It should be stressed that he was never the final decision maker in these situations, but he was a key voice in the room and served as the top lieutenant to Griffin in 2024-25 and, more recently, Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh last season.
Atlanta and NOLA’s Free Agent Spending Since 2019 (i.e. with Graham)
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesThe Good
In 2020, the Pelicans inked a then-undrafted rookie out of Xavier, swingman Naji Marshall, to a two-way deal. Marshall became a terrific 3-and-D role player instantly, and by the end of the year had earned a standard roster spot. He’s now on a lucrative contract with the Dallas Mavericks. The move was a credit to the Pelicans’ scouting department, yes, but it’s not technically a draft pick since Marshall was signed in free agency.
At their absolute apex during Bryson Graham’s run in 2023-24, the Pelicans went 49-33 and were swept out of the first-round by the rising Oklahoma City Thunder.
Looking to add more floor-spacing around Zion Williamson, the Pelicans signed an aging JJ Redick in 2019 free agency. Although he was useless by the next season, the now-Los Angeles Lakers head coach did enjoy his final year in the sun on a lottery-bound NOLA.
Graham seems to have “his guys.” In both New Orleans and Atlanta, he has enjoyed the company of wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker and point guard CJ McCollum. After finishing sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting last year with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Alexander-Walker, the Hawks managed to poach NAW this summer to a four-year, $60.6 million agreement. Not too shabby.
He practically doubled his best scoring season while remaining a defensive menace, for good measure. Alexander-Walker averaged 20.8 points on near-elite .459/.399/.902 shooting splits, plus 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals.
Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn ImagesThe Bad
Looking to capitalize off a brief 2024 playoff run, the Pelicans picked up some cheap ex-Bulls, signing springy, defense-first shooting guard Javonte Green and non-rim-protecting center Daniel Theis. Those were deeply unserious moves. Neither player survived the year on New Orleans.
But let’s back up. The biggest problem for the Pelicans during the Graham/Griffin era was the club’s stubborn refusal to split up their All-Star forward tandem.
After adding him as the centerpiece of its blockbuster 2019 Anthony Davis trade, New Orleans signed wing Brandon Ingram — then fresh off his first All-Star season — to a max contract the subsequent offseason.
New Orleans’ 2019-20 campaign would mark probably Ingram’s best pro season until he changed teams once again. Ingram’s a talented three-level scorer, so in a vacuum the investment makes some sense. He suited up for a semi-respectable 61 healthy contests in 2020-21 (a 72-game season), but his health quickly became an issue. Ingram would go on to miss an average of 36.5 contests the next four seasons. He was flipped to the Toronto Raptors at the 2025 trade deadline, although he didn’t play in a single game. Ingram submitted his best year ever with Toronto this past season, although his performance deteriorated during a seven-game, first-round loss.
Ingram and Zion Williamson never quite meshed together. While Ingram is far more perimeter-oriented and the dunktastic Williamson thrives in the post, both men’s sparse defense made them vulnerable to the big bodies of the Western Conference. Graham’s Pelicans held on too long, although they at least stayed active by pulling off several trades a year (imagine that).
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