![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Norman-Powell-vert-1-200x300.jpg\")
Norman Powell<\/a>: Two years, $44,075,000. Second-year team option. Signed using cap room.<\/p>\nTrades<\/p>\n
Acquired Kam Jones<\/a>, the right to swap 2028 second-round picks, the right to swap 2030 second-round picks, and cash ($2,075,459) from the Pacers in exchange for the draft rights to Braden Smith<\/a> (No. 38 pick). Draft picks<\/p>\n 1-4: Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/p>\n Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $48,520,685). First two years guaranteed. Third- and fourth-year team options.<\/p>\n 1-15: Dailyn Swain<\/a><\/p>\n Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $24,014,283). First two years guaranteed. Third- and fourth-year team options.<\/p>\n Two-way signings<\/p>\n Departed\/unsigned free agents<\/p>\n Other roster moves<\/p>\n Signed Zach Collins<\/a> to a two-year, $17,000,000 veteran contract extension that begins in 2026\/27. Second-year team option. Salary cap situation<\/p>\n Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place.<\/p>\n Operating below the cap ($165MM). The offseason so far<\/p>\n Chicago overhauled its roster at the 2026 trade deadline, completing a league-high seven deals from February 1-5, including moves that sent out longtime Bulls Coby White<\/a>, Ayo Dosunmu<\/a>, and Nikola Vucevic<\/a> before they reached free agency. By comparison, the roster didn\u2019t undergo quite as many changes this offseason.<\/p>\n However, the roster additions the Bulls did make were relatively significant, and the organization underwent a shake-up in other areas, with Bryson Graham replacing Arturas Karnisovas as the head of basketball operations while Tiago Splitter was hired as Chicago\u2019s new head coach following the departure of Billy Donovan.<\/p>\n Karnisovas and his top lieutenant Marc Eversley were criticized during their last several years with the Bulls for being slow to react when roster changes seemed necessary, and the return at the 2026 trade deadline hammered that point home. White and Dosunmu had developed into quality starters in recent years, while Vucevic was an All-Star when he first arrived in Chicago, but the team wasn\u2019t able to acquire more than second-round picks for any of them, having waited too long to cash in on the trade market.<\/p>\n It\u2019s too early to pass judgment on how Graham will handle the top job in the Bulls\u2019 front office, but his first offseason in the position provided some clues.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s second first-round choice was less obvious. At No. 15, the Bulls opted for former Texas swingman Dailyn Swain<\/a> over alternatives such as Ebuka Okorie<\/a>, Christian Anderson Jr.<\/a>, Allen Graves<\/a>, Karim Lopez<\/a>, Labaron Philon Jr.<\/a>, and Cameron Carr<\/a>. Swain\u2019s outside shot is very much a work in progress, but he has excellent physical tools and can put pressure on opposing defenses with his driving ability.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see how Swain develops in Chicago, but Graham deserves the benefit of the doubt for now, given his track record in the draft. Trey Murphy III<\/a> (No. 17 overall), Herbert Jones<\/a> (No. 35), Dyson Daniels<\/a> (No. 8) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker<\/a> (No. 17) are among the players the veteran executive was credited with selecting during his time in New Orleans\u2019 front office.<\/p>\n The Bulls had over $55MM in cap space available as they entered the summer. In recent years, a new general manager tasked with rebuilding a roster may have used that room primarily to take on unwanted salaries in salary-dump trades in order to accumulate draft assets. But with the NBA\u2019s new anti-tanking rules in place for the 2026\/27 season, Chicago has little incentive to bottom out, and the moves Graham made reflect the fact that he wants to ensure the team is competitive in the short term even as the front office builds for the long term.<\/p>\n The Bulls ended up using a significant chunk of their cap room to take on center Nic Claxton<\/a> from the Nets in a multi-team deal. On the heels of a down year in Brooklyn, Claxton no longer had positive trade value, as shown by the fact that Chicago essentially had to give up nothing for him. The Bulls\u2019 only outgoing piece in the deal was two-way player Mouhamadou Gueye<\/a>, who was quickly waived by Charlotte. But if the 27-year-old is healthy and reinvigorated by the change of scenery, a bounce-back season is a real possibility. It wasn\u2019t that long ago that Claxton was viewed as one of the NBA\u2019s most promising up-and-coming rim protectors.<\/p>\n Chicago also used its cap space to sign guard Norman Powell<\/a> in free agency, working out a two-year, $44MM deal that\u2019s only guaranteed for a single season. Powell is 33 years old, but he\u2019s coming off back-to-back All-Star caliber seasons in which he averaged at least 21.7 points per game. He\u2019ll bring some necessary scoring punch to the Bulls\u2019 lineup and could emerge as a valuable trade candidate at the 2027 deadline or next offseason.<\/p>\n Most of the rest of the Bulls\u2019 cap room was eaten up by a two-year, $17MM extension that Zach Collins<\/a> signed at the end of June. Collins will have a guaranteed salary in 2026\/27 and a team option for \u201927\/28.<\/p>\n While Chicago needed a backup center behind Claxton, Collins was limited to just 10 outings last season due to toe and wrist injuries, so it was a little surprising to see him get an $8.5MM guarantee for the coming season. It was also interesting that the Bulls completed his deal as an extension before free agency opened rather than re-signing him as a free agent using the room exception, which his contract would have fit into. Taking that route would\u2019ve put Chicago in a better position to maximize its leftover cap room, but the difference would\u2019ve been minimal, and extending Collins ensured he\u2019d remain trade-eligible throughout the offseason and preseason.<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n The Bulls still have that $9.4MM room exception available and were linked to players like Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> and Bennedict Mathurin<\/a> before they agreed to terms with Minnesota and New Orleans, respectively. But with those players off the board, Chicago doesn\u2019t appear to have its eye on any notable free agent targets. While I think the Bulls will probably fill its open roster spot and carry a 15-man squad into the regular season, they may simply carry the room exception into the season \u2014 it could come in handy for taking on a smaller contract or two at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, because the Bulls operated below the cap, the room exception is the only one they still have at their disposal. The club doesn\u2019t control any trade exceptions and lost access to the bi-annual or mid-level exceptions by using cap room. Chicago has over $37MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line, so the team is well positioned to add salary in trades before or during the season, but the front office will likely have to send out players of its own in those deals in order to take advantage of that space. For instance, if the Bulls were to trade Isaac Okoro<\/a> and his $11.8MM expiring contract, they could take back up to roughly $20.9MM in incoming salary.<\/p>\n Okoro, Powell, Collins, Jalen Smith<\/a>, and Tre Jones<\/a> are among the players without guaranteed money on their deals beyond 2026\/27 who could emerge as trade candidates in the coming months. Of course, the club surely wouldn\u2019t mind finding a taker for Patrick Williams<\/a> either, but that won\u2019t be easy with three years and $54MM remaining on his contract.<\/p>\n
\nAcquired cash ($1,714,000) from the Lakers in exchange for the draft rights to Vsevolod Ishchenko<\/a> (No. 56 pick).
\nAcquired Nic Claxton<\/a> from the Nets in a four-team trade in exchange for Mouhamadou Gueye<\/a> (to Hornets).<\/p>\n
\nExercised team option on Leonard Miller<\/a> ($2,406,205).
\nWaived Kam Jones<\/a> ($1,075,459 partial guarantee).<\/p>\n
\nHard-capped at first apron.
\nTeam salary: $163MM (tax); $165.3MM (apron).
\nBelow salary cap by $2MM; below luxury tax line by $37.4MM; below hard cap by $43.7MM.
\nFull room exception ($9.4MM) available.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Caleb-Wilson-Bulls-200x300.jpg\")
The Bulls entered June\u2019s draft with the fourth and 15th overall picks, and while No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson<\/a> figures to play a far more meaningful role in the franchise\u2019s long-term future, that choice might have been the easiest one Graham made all summer. In a draft with a consensus top four prospects, Chicago just had to wait to see which player from a group consisting of AJ Dybantsa<\/a>, Darryn Peterson<\/a>, Cameron Boozer<\/a>, and Wilson fell to No. 4. The former UNC forward has All-Star upside and showed off that potential in Las Vegas in July, averaging 23.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game on 50.0% shooting for the Bulls\u2019 Summer League squad.<\/p>\n