Ball movement will define the Chicago Bulls in 2026-27 because this roster cannot survive as five separate scorers waiting for their turn. Listen inside the United Center this fall and Tiago Splitter will want to hear a particular rhythm: sneakers cutting through the lane, a screen landing on time, then the sharp smack of another pass before the defense can recover.
Chicago already knows how to run. Basketball Reference tracked the Bulls at a 102.5 pace last season, second-fastest in the NBA. Yet all those extra possessions produced a 113.0 offensive rating, 23rd among 30 teams. The Bulls finished 31-51 despite averaging 116.3 points per game.
That gap tells the story better than any highlight reel.
Speed created chances. Chicago did not consistently turn those chances into efficient offense, especially when the first action disappeared and possessions drifted toward a forced isolation at the top of the key.
Now the roster looks different. Josh Giddey remains the organizer. Matas Buzelis needs another leap. No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson adds another athletic forward. Norman Powell supplies proven scoring, while Nic Claxton brings a vertical threat at center.
Splitter has options.
The challenge is making them connect.
Tiago Splitter must establish the rules first
Splitter arrived in Chicago with a reputation for adaptability rather than devotion to one rigid offensive playbook.
That distinction matters.
During his introductory press conference in June, Splitter made clear that he wanted to study the Bulls’ personnel before deciding exactly how they should play. Chicago’s official coverage of the event emphasized that roster-first approach. The organization hired him after he guided Portland to a 42-40 season and a playoff berth in 2025-26.
His previous coaching stops still offer clues.
At Paris Basketball, Splitter consistently emphasized tempo, shared responsibility and quick decisions. After a December 2024 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, he talked about playing fast, sharing the ball and giving everyone a role. During that same season, he repeatedly pushed Paris to dictate games with its own pace rather than settling into an opponent’s preferred rhythm.
Those principles fit this Bulls roster.
Chicago does not have one heliocentric superstar who should hold the ball for most of the shot clock. Its best lineups will feature several players who become more dangerous after somebody else creates the first crack in the defense.
That makes ball movement a natural foundation.
Splitter does not need an offense stuffed with complicated sets. He needs rules that survive when the original action fails. Cut after passing. Screen with purpose. Touch the paint. Relocate when a teammate drives. Move the ball when a second defender commits.
Those habits sound basic until five players execute them at full speed.
Last year’s Bulls generated tempo without enough control. Splitter now has to connect the two.
The young core must learn to share creation
The most fascinating part of Chicago’s offense sits with Giddey, Buzelis and Wilson.
All three need opportunities with the ball. None should require an entire possession to get them.
That balance could determine whether the Bulls develop an actual offensive identity or simply rotate between different young players taking turns.
Josh Giddey should create the first crack
Giddey remains Chicago’s clearest offensive organizer after averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists across 54 games last season. NBA.com also recorded a 23.8 percent usage rate.
The Bulls should absolutely put the ball in his hands.
They just should not leave it there.
Too often, young teams treat playmaking like a point guard dribbling until somebody finally becomes open. Giddey gives Chicago the size and vision to play differently. At 6-foot-7, he can see over traps, hit cutters from uncomfortable angles and advance the ball before a retreating defense gets organized.
His best possessions may not always end with an assist.
Picture Giddey turning the corner around a Claxton screen. The weak-side defender steps toward the paint, so Giddey fires to Buzelis on the wing. Buzelis immediately swings it to Powell before the closeout arrives.
No box-score assist for Giddey.
Still, he created the entire advantage.
That is the version of ball movement Chicago needs. The first pass bends the defense. The second one punishes it.
Giddey should conduct the possession without feeling obligated to finish every sequence himself.
Matas Buzelis needs advantages before touches
Buzelis already made a substantial scoring jump. NBA.com lists him at 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from three.
Chicago should expect another step.
Simply handing him more isolations would be the easy route. It may not be the smartest one.
Buzelis becomes far more dangerous when his defender begins the possession in recovery mode. A quick reversal can create that moment. So can a hard cut behind a ball-watching defender or a second-side drive after Giddey has already shifted the help.
Feed Buzelis against a moving defense and his athleticism becomes harder to contain.
Put him against five defenders already loaded toward the ball and the job gets tougher.
That environment can also sharpen his decision-making. When two defenders collapse, kick it out. When the closeout arrives too high, attack the front foot. If the center steps across, slip the pass behind him.
The Bulls want Buzelis to become a featured scorer, but featured scorers still need to understand when a possession belongs to somebody else.
For a rebuilding roster, sharing the ball is not just about generating prettier offense. It is one of the ways Chicago can develop its young talent.
Caleb Wilson adds another layer to the offense
Wilson arrives with considerably more attention after his Summer League performance. The No. 4 pick averaged 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks across four appearances while shooting 41.9 percent from three. His 35-point debut against Memphis, which included seven made three-pointers, offered an immediate glimpse of his offensive ceiling.
The regular season will test a different part of his game. NBA defenders will rotate earlier, close space faster and bait a rookie into driving directly toward help. Wilson does not need to become a point forward immediately, but he will have to recognize those pictures quickly enough to keep possessions moving rather than attacking the first opening he sees.
That is where Splitter can get creative. He should not park one young forward in the corner while the other runs an isolation. Wilson and Buzelis can instead work inside the same action, with one setting a screen while the other cuts behind the rotating defense. Flip their responsibilities on the next trip and the Bulls force defenders to communicate through another decision.
Those sequences would give both prospects meaningful touches without stopping the offense. They would also let Wilson learn NBA reads inside a structure rather than asking him to solve every possession from a standstill.
Mistakes will come, and Chicago can tolerate the productive ones. A pocket pass delivered a fraction late while Wilson learns to read the short roll has developmental value. A contested jumper after four teammates stand still offers far less.
Good ball movement gives him a framework for knowing the difference.
Norman Powell gives Chicago a veteran finisher
The Bulls changed the shape of their offense at the 2026 trade deadline.
Coby White went to Charlotte alongside Mike Conley Jr., with Chicago receiving Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three future second-round picks. The Bulls also sent Nikola Vučević and a future second-rounder to Boston for Anfernee Simons and another second-round pick. Simons subsequently left for Philadelphia in free agency.
Those transactions removed two players who had carried significant offensive responsibility.
Powell now supplies veteran scoring in a different form.
Chicago signed him to a two-year, $45 million contract after he averaged 21.7 points for the Miami Heat and earned the first All-Star selection of his career. He also shot 38.0 percent from three.
The Bulls should resist asking Powell to replace White simply by absorbing difficult possessions.
His value can come from finishing advantages rather than creating every one himself.
A Giddey drive can pull Powell’s defender toward the lane. Claxton can free him with a dribble handoff. Buzelis can force help and fire the ball back outside. Wilson can hit him after drawing a second defender on the short roll.
Powell does not need ten dribbles when the offense can create a quality shot in two.
That makes him an ideal piece for Splitter’s version of ball movement. When the young players shift the defense, Powell provides someone capable of turning that opening into points before the coverage can reset.
Chicago needs that kind of veteran pressure release.
Nic Claxton can create space without shooting threes
Claxton presents a different puzzle. Chicago acquired the 6-foot-11 center after seven seasons in Brooklyn, where he established himself as an efficient interior scorer and switchable defender. He owns career averages of 10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 62.2 percent from the field.
Nobody will mistake him for a stretch five, so his presence places more responsibility on the movement around him. Claxton can still distort a defense without ever stepping behind the arc. A hard screen can free Giddey toward the middle, while an aggressive roll forces the low defender to choose between protecting the rim and staying attached to Powell in the corner. If that defender commits to Claxton, the kickout opens. If he stays home, Giddey can attack the lane or feed the roll.
Problems arrive when Claxton occupies the paint and Chicago’s other four players turn into spectators. The court shrinks quickly, driving lanes disappear and defenders can load toward the ball without paying a meaningful price.
Splitter therefore cannot allow the Bulls to confuse motion with productivity. With a non-shooting center on the floor, every action should have a purpose: a pass triggers a cut, a drive creates a relocation, or a handoff flows into another screen when the first option disappears.
That kind of ball movement can make Claxton’s limited shooting range manageable while emphasizing everything he does well. He does not need a complicated offensive role. Sprint into screens, roll hard, occupy the rim protector and make the simple pass when two defenders converge. Executed with the right timing, those actions can create valuable space without asking Claxton to become a player he has never been.
Chicago needs better possessions, not more passes
The Bulls already averaged 28.5 assists per game last season, seventh in the NBA. On the surface, that sounds like a team that already moved the ball well.
The 23rd-ranked offensive rating tells a different story.
Assists count the final pass. They do not capture whether the first action bent the defense, whether Chicago reached the paint or whether the weak side ever had to rotate. A possession can include several passes and still end with a bad shot against a defense that never moved.
Splitter needs to judge the quality of those possessions by the pressure they create.
Giddey should force a second defender toward the ball. Buzelis should catch against scrambling closeouts instead of stationary defenders. Powell needs clean catches created by someone else’s penetration, while Claxton’s roll should drag help toward the rim and open space behind it.
Those are the sequences that turn passing into offense.
Effective ball movement should feel aggressive. Each pass asks the defense another question, and every cut creates another decision. Eventually, one defender arrives late or chooses the wrong assignment.
Chicago has to punish that mistake immediately.
The Bulls played at the second-fastest pace last season but finished 23rd in offensive rating. Even climbing toward the middle of the league would change how competitive this roster can become, especially in games decided during the final five minutes.
A better half-court offense would also reduce Chicago’s dependence on transition. When opponents take away the break, load up against Giddey or switch the first action, the Bulls need another way to create a clean shot.
Pace gives Chicago volume.
Execution has to give those possessions value.
The Bulls will discover their identity when games slow down
October should produce plenty of possessions that make Chicago look dangerous.
Giddey will grab rebounds and push. Buzelis will fly down the wing. Wilson will run beside him. Powell will trail into open threes, while Claxton sprints toward the rim before opposing centers can get established.
Those plays will be fun.
They will not answer the biggest question.
The real examination arrives when the floor shrinks in the fourth quarter. Scouting reports take away favorite actions. Defenses switch more aggressively. Transition opportunities disappear, and every half-second of hesitation gives the opponent time to recover.
That is when ball movement has to become a habit rather than a slogan.
Giddey must trust the second creator. Buzelis has to attack without freezing the possession. Wilson needs to choose the simple read when the defense tempts him toward something spectacular. Powell should punish openings instead of having to manufacture them. Claxton must keep screening and rolling hard enough to occupy two defenders.
Splitter has to make those responsibilities feel connected.
Chicago does not need to discover another superstar before opening night. First, it needs to make the talent already on the floor easier to use.
Last season proved that speed alone cannot do that.
The Bulls raced through possessions and still finished 23rd offensively. Since then, they changed coaches, moved on from White and Vučević, drafted another high-level prospect, added an All-Star scorer and brought in a new starting center.
Those moves created possibilities.
Now Chicago needs a common language.
For the 2026-27 Bulls, ball movement can become that language. The season may depend on how quickly five very different players learn to speak it together.
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FAQs
Why will ball movement matter for the Chicago Bulls in 2026-27?
Chicago has several players who need touches but no single scorer who should dominate every possession. Quick decisions can help the Bulls create cleaner shots.
What role will Josh Giddey have in the Bulls offense?
Giddey should remain Chicago’s primary organizer. His biggest job will be creating the first defensive rotation and trusting teammates to continue the possession.
How does Matas Buzelis fit Chicago’s ball movement offense?
Buzelis can attack more effectively when the defense is already moving. Quick reversals, cuts and secondary drives should give him cleaner scoring opportunities.
What can Caleb Wilson add to the Bulls in 2026-27?
Wilson adds size, athleticism and scoring upside. His development will depend on making faster reads as NBA defenses rotate and close space around him.
Tracking stats and settling debates. If there is a scoreboard, I am watching it.
