This browser does not support the Video element.
Where the Bulls took Bryson Graham — and when they knew they had their guy | Chicago Sports Tonight
Jon Greenberg joins Chicago Sports Tonight to talk about where the Bulls took new EVP Bryson Graham to dinner and when they knew he was the man for the job.
Chicago Bulls' Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham made it clear when he was hired that he wants to surround the team with bright basketball minds.
"I'm the smartest person in the room, we're going to fail," Graham said. "I'm going to make sure that we add the right group of people and we're going to pull in the right direction."
First, Graham needed to add the right people. He made a step in that direction on Thursday.
What we know:
According to multiple reports, the Bulls are making two hires in their front office.
They're finalizing a deal with Orlando Magic assistant general manager Stephen Mervis as the team's Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. He'll work under Graham.
Mervis' hire is important because he was known as the salary cap manager in Orlando. The Bulls have the most salary cap to work with in the NBA this offseason. Adding Mervis gives the Bulls a well-respected mind who can manage that cap space wisely.
Cap space strategy was also something Graham mentioned at his introduction.
"We're going to do this together," Graham said. "That's from the performance room, that's from the communications department to the coaching staff, cap strategy, evaluation, every aspect of this."
Mervis was also part of the scouting efforts in Orlando, which pieced together a team that gave the No. 1-seeded Pistons a seven-game series in the first-round of the NBA playoffs.
The Bulls are also hiring Brooklyn Nets executive Acie Law as the team's Vice President of Player Personnel. Law and Graham know each other well. The two played basketball together at Texas A&M.
Law has more of a hefty background in scouting. This past year, he was the Director of Player Personnel for the Brooklyn Nets.
He was also the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning an NBA title with them in 2025.
What's next:
This was always the plan.
The Bulls wanted to fill the front office first before beginning their coaching search. That search should start soon, if it hasn't already.
Now, with Law and Mervis in the building, Graham can put together a comprehensive list of candidates to be the Bulls' next head coach. It was always going to start with the front office, though.
Graham is finding the people he believes in.
"Let's find the most competent and most talented people," Graham said. "That could be a coach that you may not even heard of. And I may get killed for it, but if I believe in him, I'm going to hire him."