New Chicago Bulls VP Bryson Graham outlines vision for rebuild

Bryson Graham took the reins on Wednesday as the new executive vice president of operations for the Chicago Bulls, outlining his vision for rebuilding the team into a consistent NBA championship contender.

The San Antonio native grew up a Spurs fan, and played college ball at Texas A&M, but said like most basketball fans growing up in the 1990s, he wanted to be Michael Jordan.

Graham kept his composure during his introductory press conference on Wednesday, but admitted he had a hard time containing his emotions when he got the job.

"This is unreal. When [Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf] called and told me I got the job, I'm not afraid to say this, I started crying. I broke down, man," Graham said. "Michael really didn't have to sell me on much of anything. I'm just being honest with you."

Before Graham was formally introduced as the team's new top basketball executive, Reinsdorf delivered a brutally honest message to fans about the team's lack of success in recent years.

"I want to … actually, I need to say I'm sorry, because the results obviously just haven't been there. It's not something I'm proud of, and it's something that I want to get right," Reinsdorf said.

After 15 years working his way up through the Pelicans organization, and then one season with the Hawks, Graham now holds the top spot in the front office for the Bulls, and it clearly means a lot to him.

"A lot of people are from here, they've been here for a very long time. Me walking into this gym, like, I feel the weight, and I want that pressure. It motivates me. It gets me going," he said. "I believe I'm ready, but you know, you probably never know you're really ready. It's kind of like having a kid, right? It's like, 'I think I'm ready to have children,' and then it's like, until you get it, you're like, 'Oh my God,' you know?"

Graham, 39, said he grew up a Bulls fan because of Michael Jordan and team's six championships in the 1990s, but this is an organization that hasn't won a playoff series in 11 years. So what gives him the confidence he can succeed where others have failed?

"It's not going to be just me. It's going to be the people that I put around me and work with me. We're going to do this together, and that's from the performance room, that's from the communications department to the coaching staff, cap strategy, evaluation, every aspect of this," he said. "I don't ever want to put this on I have the answer, because I don't. If I'm the smartest person in the room, we're going to fail, and so I'm going to make sure that we add the right group of people, and we're going to pull in the right direction, and we're going to win games."

Graham made it clear it's going to take time to turn the Bulls into a championship contender, after making the playoffs only once since 2020 under his predecessor, Artūras Karnišovas, losing in the first round to the Bucks in 2022. The Bulls haven't won a playoff series since the 2014-15 team led by Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Pau Gasol.

The Bulls gutted their roster before the trade deadline, shipping off Ayo Dosunmu, Julian Phillips, Nikola Vucevic, Dalen Terry, Coby White, Kevin Huerter, and Dario Saric in trades that mostly netted them future draft assets and cap space.

Reinsdorf pointed to Graham's history as an "elite talent evaluator," with his teams in New Orleans and Atlanta hitting on several late first- and even second-round picks. Graham emphasized that the rebuild will take time.

"I think the roster, we're in the developmental stage right now. I think everyone in here knows that we're not where we want to be," Graham said.

As far as hiring a new head coach to replace Billy Donovan, Graham said he hasn't started that search yet as he gets settled in. The NBA Draft Lottery will be on Sunday, with the Bulls holding two first-round picks.

"The bottom line is we want to win championships, and we want to build a culture that can sustain a high level of competitiveness in this league. That becomes harder and harder every year. It's so competitive. And we're going to do that with the right people, they're going to help create the right culture, and we're going to put the right team on the floor."

Reinsdorf emphasized that Graham will have all the resources necessary to build a consistent contender. As he put it, "we need the Bulls to be relevant again." He's hopeful Graham will be the one to lead them back to relevance.