The Bulls backup playmaking battle will become real the first time Josh Giddey walks toward the sideline at the Advocate Center. Norman Powell might be curling toward the wing. Matas Buzelis could be waiting to attack a closeout, while Caleb Wilson sprints toward the rim. Somebody still has to put the ball in the right place at the right time.
Giddey made that job look increasingly natural last season, averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists across 54 games. At 6-foot-7, he can secure a defensive rebound, turn upcourt and immediately become Chicago’s point guard without waiting for an outlet pass. His ability to start the break himself gives the Bulls an offensive shortcut few teams can replicate.
That shortcut disappears when he sits. For new head coach Tiago Splitter, the issue goes well beyond assigning a backup point guard label. Chicago needs to decide what kind of offense it wants during those minutes. Tre Jones offers control, while Rob Dillingham offers considerably more chaos, for better and worse.
Giddey has made the hierarchy clear
Chicago does not enter training camp searching for its primary organizer. Giddey owns that responsibility, and his size changes how quickly the Bulls can get into offense. NBA.com tracking credited him with a 46.6 assist percentahttps://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630581/usagege last season, showing just how much of Chicago’s offense already flowed through his decisions.
The dependence creates an obvious problem. Giddey averaged 32.1 minutes in his 54 appearances, leaving substantial stretches when somebody else had to organize the floor. No NBA offense can survive asking one player to dictate every meaningful possession, especially over a full season. Chicago’s young frontcourt makes those non-Giddey minutes even more important.
Buzelis needs touches where he can attack a defense already in motion. Wilson will need guards who recognize a seal, a slipping screen or an open runway toward the rim. Powell needs passes delivered before defenders recover from chasing him around screens. Chicago has plenty of players who can finish a possession, but Splitter still needs someone who can consistently start one.
Tre Jones gives Splitter the safe possession
There is nothing mysterious about Tre Jones. He gets Chicago into its offense, changes pace without losing control and rarely turns a routine possession into an emergency. When a young lineup begins rushing, Jones can slow the game just enough to put everyone back where they belong.
His numbers underline that reliability. Jones produced 14.1 points and 5.4 assists per game last season while turning the ball over only 1.4 times in 27 minutes a night, according to NBA.com. He also shot 55.3 percent from the field, giving Chicago useful efficiency without requiring a heavy diet of shots.
Put Jones beside Powell and Buzelis, and his job becomes fairly straightforward. He can get Buzelis the ball in the short corner before a second defender arrives, work Powell into an action off the wing or hold his dribble long enough for a rolling big to create a passing window. None of those reads will dominate a highlight package. They can still keep a second unit alive.
The concern comes when defenses decide Jones does not deserve much attention outside the paint. He made 31.5 percent of his three-pointers last season on two attempts per game. A defender willing to slide underneath screens can crowd Buzelis’ driving lanes and give Chicago less room around the basket.
That is the trade-off. Jones gives Splitter the cleaner possession, but clean does not always mean dangerous. Against disciplined defenses, Chicago may need a guard capable of creating a problem rather than simply avoiding one.
Rob Dillingham can make defenses react
Rob Dillingham brings that possibility almost immediately. His first step puts pressure on the point of attack, and his handle gives him ways to escape when the original driving lane disappears. A routine high screen can become a paint touch before the defense finishes calling its coverage.
Chicago gave up something meaningful to find out whether that skill can develop. At the February 2026 deadline, the Bulls traded hometown guard Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips to Minnesota for Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks. Dosunmu was averaging 15.0 points and 3.6 assists before the deal, so Chicago did more than shuffle pieces at the end of the bench. The Bulls moved a productive 26-year-old to take a longer look at Dillingham’s upside.
The first look showed both sides of the gamble. Dillingham averaged 9.6 points and 2.8 assists in 21.5 minutes across 30 games for Chicago, according to NBA.com. He also committed 2.1 turnovers per game and shot 30 percent from three. His speed produced openings, but his decisions did not always preserve them.
That distinction should become central in camp. Dillingham can beat the first defender, but NBA playmaking really begins after that defender loses. He has to see the low man sliding toward the rim, recognize when the big drops and know when one more pass matters more than another dribble.
Dillingham cannot simply mimic Giddey
Splitter should not ask Dillingham to become a smaller Giddey. Their advantages come from completely different places. Giddey sees over defenders and manipulates space with size, while the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Dillingham has to manufacture openings through acceleration and sudden changes of direction.
His path to meaningful backup minutes starts with creating the first crack in the defense. Beat the point-of-attack defender, force the big to step toward the ball and make the next read before the opening closes. When the low defender leaves the corner, Dillingham can create a three for Powell. When the center commits, the roller should suddenly have daylight.
The talent to create those situations already exists. Camp will show whether Dillingham can consistently recognize what happens next. That matters because Chicago’s point guard competition does not exist in isolation. The scorer sharing those possessions changes what Splitter needs from the man handling the ball.
Norman Powell changes the equation
Norman Powell gives Chicago something neither backup guard should have to manufacture every trip: proven NBA scoring. After averaging 21.7 points for Miami and earning his first All-Star selection, Powell signed a two-year, $45 million deal with the Bulls in July. He arrives as a player who already understands how to punish a defense once somebody else creates the initial advantage.
That makes Jones an easy theoretical fit. The point guard can initiate the action, pull a defender toward the middle and find Powell when he curls into space. If the first option disappears, Jones can reset rather than force the possession. Powell handles the scoring burden, while Jones handles the traffic.
Dillingham offers something less predictable but potentially harder to defend. Pair his dribble penetration with Powell’s scoring and Chicago suddenly has two guards capable of bending the defense in different ways. A Dillingham drive can drag the low defender toward the paint, leaving Powell alone near the corner. The right pass turns Dillingham’s speed into Powell’s shot.
The danger comes when Dillingham keeps going after he has already done the hard part. If he attacks a second defender instead of moving the ball, Powell becomes another spectator. Splitter has to teach him that creating an advantage and finishing a possession are not always the same job.
That is why this battle should not become a simple referendum on Jones or Dillingham. Powell makes both combinations viable. He also makes their differences much easier to see.
Splitter has handled this kind of uncertainty before
Splitter already spent one season coaching through a roster that demanded flexibility. Portland elevated him to interim head coach early in 2025-26, and he guided the Trail Blazers to a 42-40 record, a play-in victory and the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed. That run forced him to balance young players, changing responsibilities and the nightly pressure to win.
Portland also developed a recognizable identity under him. The Trail Blazers finished second in offensive rebounds, sixth in total rebounds and seventh in made three-pointers per game, according to the Bulls’ announcement of Splitter’s hiring. Those numbers do not provide a blueprint for Chicago, but they show he can build functional habits without waiting for a perfectly finished roster.
The Bulls present a similar coaching challenge with a different set of pieces. Giddey supplies size and playmaking. Jones provides stability, Dillingham brings speed and Powell adds established scoring. Buzelis and the rest of Chicago’s young frontcourt need those pieces arranged in ways that accelerate their development rather than turn every bench stint into survival basketball.
Splitter does not need one rigid second-unit formula. He can use Jones when Chicago needs order, turn toward Dillingham when a matchup calls for penetration and stagger Giddey’s minutes when neither option provides enough creation. The best solution may change from night to night.
Training camp will expose creation from control
The Advocate Center should provide answers in possessions that never make a highlight reel. Watch what happens when the first pick-and-roll gets swallowed up. Watch who recognizes a mismatch before the defense switches back, or who notices Buzelis standing untouched on the weak side while the shot clock slips under 10.
Those possessions tell a coach who can run his team. Jones already owns the stronger résumé as a stabilizer, and his low turnover rate gives Splitter a guard who can get Chicago into offense without turning every trip into an adventure. Dillingham carries the bigger developmental swing because he can create something when the original action produces nothing.
That upside explains why Chicago should give him real opportunities. The Bulls did not move Dosunmu and bring Dillingham back as a centerpiece of that deadline package simply to bury him. Still, development cannot mean unlimited mistakes. Dillingham has to show that his speed can create good possessions for everyone else, not merely more possessions for himself.
Training camp should make that distinction visible. Jones will try to control the game before it becomes messy, while Dillingham will try to create enough pressure that the mess works in Chicago’s favor.
Chicago does not need one backup answer
By the end of camp, the Bulls backup playmaking battle may produce something more useful than a single winner. Jones can run structured second units. Dillingham can change the pace against slower defenders, while Giddey can stagger with bench groups when Splitter wants more size and passing. Powell can shoulder the scoring load beside whichever organizer fits the matchup.
That flexibility could turn a perceived roster gap into a legitimate rotation tool. First, though, Splitter has to establish trust. When sneakers start squeaking through scrimmages at the Advocate Center and coaches stop possessions over missed reads, he will learn which guard understands what Chicago needs before the play begins to unravel.
A spectacular crossover will not settle the issue, and neither will one hot shooting afternoon. Splitter needs to know whether Jones can keep enough pressure on the defense to preserve space, whether Dillingham can attack without letting speed become recklessness and whether both guards can make life easier for Powell, Buzelis and the young frontcourt. Giddey gives Chicago its offensive compass, but training camp will reveal whether the Bulls can still find their way when he heads to the bench.
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FAQs
Who will back up Josh Giddey for the Chicago Bulls?
Tre Jones and Rob Dillingham are Chicago’s main options. Splitter could also stagger Giddey’s minutes instead of relying on one full-time backup.
What does Tre Jones give the Bulls?
Jones gives Chicago control, efficient decision-making and reliable ball security. He averaged 5.4 assists against only 1.4 turnovers per game last season.
What does Rob Dillingham bring to Chicago’s second unit?
Dillingham brings speed, dribble penetration and shot creation. His challenge is turning those advantages into efficient possessions without forcing the action.
How does Norman Powell affect the Bulls’ backup point guard battle?
Powell reduces the scoring burden on Chicago’s backup guards. Jones can organize around him, while Dillingham can use his penetration to create open shots for Powell.
Why is the Bulls backup playmaking battle important?
Chicago relies heavily on Giddey to organize its offense. Splitter needs a dependable plan for keeping the ball moving whenever Giddey heads to the bench.
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