Bulls hire Graham to lead basketball operations

The Bulls have gotten it wrong before, more than once.

Bryson Graham gets the chance to prove this time will be different. The former Atlanta Hawks staff member was named the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations on Monday.

Graham, 39, worked for the Hawks for less than a year. Before that, he spent 16 years with the New Orleans Pelicans, working his way from intern to general manager.

“Bryson is an elite talent evaluator who has earned tremendous respect across the league, and that stood out immediately during our process,” Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “He has worked his way up through basketball operations from the ground level, and that experience has given him a deep understanding of how to build and sustain a successful organization.”

There was heavy speculation in recent days that Minnesota general manager Matt Lloyd was the front-runner for the job. A Bensenville native, Lloyd worked for the Bulls from 1999-2012, starting as a media relations assistant, then moving to the scouting side when John Paxson took over for Jerry Krause in 2003.

A difficult part of trying to evaluate front office executives is figuring out what sort of input the candidate had in both good and bad decisions.

Ultimately, building a winning team in the NBA involves plenty of luck, along with making smart calls, especially on draft night.

The Atlanta Hawks media guide listed Graham third on the list of basketball operations staff, behind general manager Onsi Saleh and assistant GM Kyle Korver. Graham's title was senior vice president of basketball operations.

Graham held the title of general manager in New Orleans, but was thought to be working under executive vice president David Griffin. Graham left the Pelicans after Griffin was fired in 2025.

Despite a lack of team success, the Pelicans had some draft success stories, landing forward Herb Jones in the second round, and trading for No. 17 pick Trey Murphy shortly after the 2021 draft.

It's not clear who else had input in the Bulls' search or who will stay from the previous front office group, but Graham started working for the Pelicans at roughly the same time as Bulls assistant general manager J.J. Polk. Polk had the role of Bulls salary cap expert, joining the front office after Arturas Karnisovas was hired.

The Hawks finished with their best record in 11 years and lost to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta made two different deals with New Orleans shortly after Graham was hired. First, the Hawks sent No. 13 pick Derik Queen to the Pelicans for this year's first-rounder, which will be in the top 10. Atlanta also landed Dyson Daniels and two first-round picks for guard Dejounte Murray.

Another plus move for the Hawks was a trade with Minnesota to obtain former Pelicans draft pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who won the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. Atlanta also made a couple of bold moves at the trade deadline, landing Jonathan Kuminga from Golden State for Kristaps Porzingis, and sending franchise stalwart Trae Young to Washington.

“I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to deliver results for this city and these fans,” Graham said in the Bulls news release. “My entire career has been built on the belief that sustained success starts with finding the right players and developing an all-around impactful culture. I am ready to get to work.”

Graham is a native of San Antonio who spent three years as a deep bench player for Texas A&M. After a year as a graduate assistant at A&M, he joined the Pelicans as an intern and started climbing the ladder. The Bulls used talent search firm ZRG Turnkey to help with this process.

Graham can get his tenure off to a good start by bringing the Bulls some luck in Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery. With the ninth-worst record, the Bulls have a 4.5% chance of landing the top overall pick.