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          Chicago Bulls

          Bulls CEO: Graham's hire as VP a 'step in the right direction'

          • Jamal CollierMay 7, 2026, 04:14 AM
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              Jamal Collier is an NBA reporter at ESPN. Collier covers the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and the Midwest region of the NBA, including stories such as Minnesota's iconic jersey swap between Anthony Edwards and Justin Jefferson. He has been at ESPN since Sept. 2021 and previously covered the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune. You can reach out to Jamal on Twitter @JamalCollier or via email Jamal.Collier@espn.com.

          CHICAGO -- Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf apologized to fans and took full responsibility for Chicago's lack of success in recent years during his opening remarks of Wednesday's introductory news conference for Bryson Graham, the team's new VP of basketball operations.

          "It flows up to me, and I take responsibility," Reinsdorf said. "I do feel that today is a step in the right direction. It's an important step."

          Graham, 39, executive who has spent time with the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans, was hired this week to become the Bulls' top decision-maker. Reinsdorf described Graham as an elite talent evaluator who took "no shortcuts" across various roles in both organizations, rising from intern to general manager.

          Graham made his immediate outlook clear: The Bulls are in for a rebuild.

          "I'm not going to be up here and mince words and say we're further along if we just add a couple of pieces," Graham said. "Because that's not the case."

          The Bulls haven't won a playoff series since the 2014-15 season and have made the playoffs only twice in the past decade. Yet Graham will have an opportunity to remake this team in his own vision. Chicago has two first-round picks in the 2026 draft -- its own lottery pick and the Portland Trail Blazers' selection -- as well as approximately $60 million in cap space that Graham said the team will have to get creative with in an effort to best utilize the money.

          The Bulls also need to hire a head coach after Billy Donovan stepped away from the job following the end of the season. Graham said he will begin his search next week and is looking for a coach with strong offensive and defensive principles who can also develop the team's young players.

          "Let's find the most competent and most talented people," Graham said. "And that could be a coach that you may not even heard of, and I might get killed for it. But if I believe in him, I'm going to hire him."

          Reinsdorf acknowledged he will allow Graham to build the team in his image and committed Wednesday to giving him the resources necessary to build a sustainable winner, including paying the luxury tax if the team is competing for a championship. Chicago has paid the luxury tax only one year (2012-13) in its history.

          "Bryson's going to tell us, 'Here's what I need,'" Reinsdorf said. "If we're competing for championships, we expect that we'll probably be in the luxury tax and [we're] totally OK with that. I don't want to be in luxury tax for a team that's not in the playoffs."