The Chicago Bulls could go after Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, and Mark Williams in free agency this summer.
The Chicago Bulls have plenty of questions to answer this summer, headlined by who they will hire for their front office and head coaching positions after both have shifted this offseason. The Bulls are coming off a disappointing 2025-26 season in which they missed the postseason altogether, ending their yearly appearance in the play-in tournament.
Additionally, the Bulls have plenty of questions to answer on their roster, and they’ll have money to burn this year in free agency.
Recently, Jake Fischer reported on how the Bulls might go on a spending spree in order to address their dire frontcourt situation.
“There is an anticipation that (Mark) Williams, like Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Utah’s Walker Kessler, will attempt to generate interest from Chicago in restricted free agency since the Bulls are projected to wield some $65 million in salary cap space,” reported Fischer on Marc Stein’s Substack.
Duren hasn’t exactly increased his asking price during the Detroit Pistons’ first round series against the Orlando Magic, at times looking borderline unplayable as Detroit fell into a 3-1 hole. However, the All-Star is still sure to have plenty of interested suitors on the market this year, and it certainly makes sense that Chicago would be one of them after trading Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics midway through this past season.
Kessler and Williams are also intriguing names, both profiling more as traditional shot-blocking big men who can clean up the offensive glass and finish lobs, even if they don’t provide much in the way of an offensive skillset.
Before they start throwing money at people, however, the Bulls will likely at least want to fill their front office and head coaching vacancies as their 2026 offseason continues.