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League sources believe Wilson would be an easy pick for Chicago if he gets to No. 4. The Bulls worked out other players, including Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings, and Nate Ament, but it would be a significant upset if any of them were selected here.
Darren Wolfson: Another player of interest to the Wolves, per multiple league contacts: Bulls guard Josh Giddey. Just not sure how you pry him out of Chicago, and I like his fit with new coach Tiago Splitter. #WolvesBack #Twolves
Cody Taylor: Source: The Bulls hosted a workout today with the following players: 🏀 Christian Anderson, Texas Tech 🏀 Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s 🏀 Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama 🏀 Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky 🏀 Kowacie Reeves, Georgia Tech 🏀 Meleek Thomas, Arkansas
Former Tennessee forward Nate Ament named four pre-draft workouts during a SportsCenter interview, and the Dallas Mavericks were not on the list. The 6-foot-10 freshman said he had worked out for the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers ahead of Tuesday’s NBA Draft, where he is widely projected as a lottery pick after one season at Tennessee. The omission carries weight for Dallas, which holds the ninth pick and has been tied to interest in Ament. A team showing interest does not always work out a prospect, but Ament’s own account of his pre-draft circuit did not include the Mavericks, and his comments came days before the franchise goes on the clock with the No. 9 overall pick.
Q. Have you ever been asked as a in consultant role or even just in conversation about how you would address what they should do next or what they should do first? Kendall Gill: No, I' I've never been asked those questions. Q. What would you tell them? Gill: I would tell them exactly what I just told you. And then I would also tell them that, and I know it's going to take a lot of money. I've discussed this with you guys as well. I know it's going to take a lot of money, but I would definitely try to go back after Ayo Dosunmu as well. And I know that Ayo, from my conversations with him this summer, would be open to it, but it's going to take a lot to get him back. But that's what I would do.
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Without the roster filled out, it’s unclear how Graham’s and Splitter’s shared vision will play out on the court. Among the few noteworthy assets he inherited, Splitter believes in Matas Buzelis. Not seemingly one to guarantee anything, Splitter still detailed prioritizing the 2024 first-rounder. “I’ve been studying him more and more, getting to know him,” Splitter said. “We’re gonna work every day to get him to be the best player he can be. I think nobody knows yet what is his ceiling. “He’s a guy that learns fast. That’s what people have said to me. He’s going to continue to get better physically, he’s going to continue to shoot better, he’s going to read better, become a better defender. We see him as a very complete player (on) both ends.”
Tiago Splitter has been watching the Bulls from afar. Not just Wednesday morning before his introductory news conference at the Advocate Center, not just earlier this season when he was a thousand miles away trying to right the ship in Portland, and not just years ago when he was a championship player in San Antonio. “I’m actually a Bulls fan myself,” Splitter admitted. “Growing up in Brazil, I watched many games late at night, hidden from my parents at 1 am, watching MJ [Michael -Jordan] games and rooting for the Bulls. So super excited to be here.”
Cam Smith: As the 25th head coach in Chicago Bulls history, what do you think that you can bring to this story franchise that can make this group, this organization a consistent winner? Tiago Splitter: Well, I think it's all small steps, right? You got to now we got to finish our staff. We’re going to have the draft coming up, a free agency coming up. Once we have the group of guys that we want, we're going to start the plans and day by day, small steps, we're going to get better. It's not smart by me saying we're going to win this, we're going to do that, we're going to shoot 50 percent from the three-point line. No, that's not it. It's step by step, smart in every step, doing everything with excellence, high standards, and create this culture that is needed.
KC Johnson: One of the ways you created buy-in in Portland with a video that's made its way to Chicago is the box, where the defensive player of the game after a win would write his name and drop it into a box. It was an idea you came up with. You said thinking outside the box. Some teams have the belt or the chain but yours was a different wrinkle. Will we have something similar this season in Chicago? And what did that experience mean to you and the Portland team last season? Tiago Splitter: Yeah, I mean, one of our best defenders there was Toumani Camara, right? And never whenever he got like a big stop, he would do the box sign and basically saying, I put that offensive player in the box. And I want to create something different than the belt or the chain and why not, you're going to put their whole squad in the box and whoever is the best defender. something of course to create a bond and the guys had fun with. Still, I don't have a great idea for the Bulls. I have time. But we'll figure out something, but the most important thing you know like I said is the bond.
K.C. Johnson: Tiago Splitter: "It's a great moment for me, my family. . . . I'm honored to be coach of the Bulls. I think we have a great future in front of us." Said he felt connection and similar vision with Bryson Graham on initial meeting.
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Joel Lorenzi: Tiago Splitter on Matas Buzelis: "Nobody knows yet what his ceiling is. He’s gonna slowly show what kind of player he’s gonna be. … He’s gonna shoot better. He’s gonna read better. He’s gonna be a better defender.”
Bulls on CHSN: "You have to make them believe. You have to know how to teach. You have to know how to lead...show them the vision, show them the path." Tiago Splitter on the details of coaching beyond the X's and O's
Joel Lorenzi: Tiago Splitter on why things didn't work out in Portland: "I want to leave that behind."
Bulls on CHSN: "He handled that adversity, he led during that adversity and he did it with class." Bryson Graham on the confidence he has in Tiago Splitter after he led the Blazers to the playoffs as interim head coach this past season