The headliner isn’t a question.
When Bulls camp tips off Monday with media day, all eyes — fair or unfair — will be on rookie Caleb Wilson.
Since becoming the No. 4 overall pick in a loaded 2026 draft in June, Wilson has talked it and walked it with very few missteps. He was must-see TV in Summer League, he has been in the lab on a daily basis working on his game with teammates and with members of his Klutch Sports -family, and he has shown a likable bravado that has become endearing throughout the city.
There’s no doubt that Wilson is the future.
But there is a present.
That’s the reality that will hit the organization in the face with the ferocity of a Wilson dunk.
See, hype and hope are nice. They sell, especially in a city like Chicago. At some point, however, the games start up and they count. The Bulls do have four players ranked in the ESPN 100 that was just released, which is a nice foundation for a rebuild, but not one player is above No. 80 Josh Giddey.
New Bulls veteran Norman Powell was No. 86, Matas Buzelis was No. 88 and Wilson was No. 97.
Victor Wembanyama and the loaded young Spurs can sleep easy tonight.
What that means is while the Bulls new-look front office has acknowledged that this is a rebuild, there are going to be some painful nights for this group that test hype and hope. Maybe they exceed the Las Vegas win total of 27 ½ to 29 ½ wins, but even a 32-win season is still a lot of ugly.
That’s where Wilson (20 years old) — and to a certain extent Buzelis (21) — come in. If the tandem can become a problem for teams on both ends of the floor and the rest of the roster just isn’t good enough to sniff Eastern Conference play-in territory, the rebuild will at least have traction moving forward.
Big ifs that will start being answered this week.
Top five camp storylines
1. For starters — Mapping out the starting lineup is as chalky as it has been for the Bulls in a few seasons. Giddey and Powell will man the backcourt, while Nic Claxton, Buzelis and Wilson will hold down the frontcourt. The good news for this group? For the most part, four of the starters — Wilson is the unknown — have showcased the best ability to have — availability.
Even Claxton, who has been working through back issues the last few seasons, played 69 games for the Nets last season and 70 the season before that.
2. French connection — Even with Noa Essengue’s rookie season basically being a redshirt year because of his shoulder surgery, there is still a lot for the 6-11 forward to prove. Not only does he need to show up for camp with an improved physicality, but he needs to show Tiago Splitter and the coaching staff that he can be emotionally mature when things don’t go his way on the floor.
This front office and coaching staff didn’t draft Essengue No. 12 overall in 2025. They have no allegiance to him. That also means they won’t bend over backwards to accommodate a player that isn’t ready to pull the rope.
3. Battleground — While the starters are basically set, there are reserve spots still to be won. Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro, Jalen Smith and Zach Collins — when healthy — are all in as far as the makeup of the second unit. That leaves Rob Dillingham and rookie -Dailyn Swain trying to etch out backcourt playing time, while Patrick Williams, Essengue and Leonard Miller will battle for frontcourt minutes.
Based on last season, Miller should have the lead because of the way he finished the year, but with a new staff, each player is back to equal ground.
4. Speaking of Swain — It was beyond rough for the rookie in Summer League as his shot betrayed him and his ball-handling skills were shaky at best. But Swain was picked No. 15 out of Texas for a reason and these preseason games will be a huge opportunity to put Las Vegas and Summer League behind him.
5. The Tiago effect — Splitter maybe had the best coaching season of anyone last year, taking over the Trail Blazers when then-coach Chauncey Billups was pinched by the feds for allegedly rigging card games. All Splitter did was take Portland to a win in a play-in game and a berth in the postseason.
Is he a true miracle worker? That will be tested with this group, starting with what kind of culture he wants established. Does this roster have the pieces in place for those seeds to start growing? A big ask that will lead eventually to answers.