Jamal Collier
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Jamal Collier
ESPN
- Jamal Collier is an NBA reporter at ESPN. Collier covers the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and the Midwest region of the NBA, including stories such as Minnesota’s iconic jersey swap between Anthony Edwards and Justin Jefferson. He has been at ESPN since Sept. 2021 and previously covered the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune. You can reach out to Jamal on Twitter @JamalCollier or via email Jamal.Collier@espn.com.
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The Chicago Bulls are hiring Atlanta Hawks senior vice president Bryson Graham as the franchise’s new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, the team announced on Monday.
Graham spent 15 years in New Orleans (2010-15) before joining Atlanta last offseason, rising from an intern in 2010-11 to general manager in 2024-25 with the Pelicans. Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh recruited Graham as his top executive last summer out of New Orleans and he now becomes the Bulls’ top decision-maker.
Graham, 39, has been known across the NBA for a tremendous scouting eye. His drafting track record includes finds such as Trey Murphy III (drafted 17th overall), Herb Jones (35th), Dyson Daniels (8th) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17th), the latter two who went on to win Most Improved Player awards in back-to-back years.
Graham also helped facilitate negotiations between the Pelicans and Hawks during the draft last year that saw Atlanta gain the Pelicans’ 2026 first-round pick, one of the more coveted draft assets in the league this year.
The Bulls conducted in-person interviews with candidates last week and mulled over three finalists — Graham, Detroit Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey and Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd — over the weekend before deciding on Graham on Monday.
Bulls President and COO Michael Reinsdorf casted a wider net during his search to lead the team, hiring a search firm and interviewing candidates from across the league, including Cavs GM Mike Gansey, Spurs assistant GM Dave Telep and Celtics assistant GM Dave Lewin.
Graham becomes just the third head of basketball operations hired by Chicago since the turn of the century. John Paxson served as president of basketball operations from 2009-2020 before Arturas Karnisovas took over in April 2020. Karnisovas lasted six years at the helm before he was fired before the final week of the 2025-26 regular season.
Graham will get started on a job that has been highly coveted around the league, both for its market (Chicago is the third largest city in the NBA) and for the flexibility of its roster. The Bulls have their own 2026 lottery pick, the Portland Trail Blazers 2026 first round pick, which was conveyed as a part of a 2021 trade involving Lauri Markkanen, as well as nearly $60 million in cap space available.
Still, Graham has a lot of work to do building up a roster that includes Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Tre Jones and Noa Essengue, who was drafted in the lottery last season but played only two games before needing season-ending surgery. The Bulls will also be searching for a new coach to replace Billy Donovan, who stepped down from the role after six seasons at the helm.
Chicago finished the season 29-51 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
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