Chicago Bulls basketball is back, and the new roster has plenty of questions to answer ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Josh Giddey returns as the new centerpiece of the offense. Matas Buzelis is ready for a breakout year. And the Bulls are attempting to transform their style of play again to take advantage of an Eastern Conference upended by injuries to star players.
The Bulls begin preseason play Tuesday night on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with five exhibition games before their season opener Oct. 22. Coach Billy Donovan plans to play the entire roster in at least the first two preseason games, with starters limited to much shorter stints than a typical game.
Here are five questions for the Bulls to answer over the five exhibitions.
1. Can the defense improve?
The Bulls were middling — at best — on defense last season. They ranked 19th in defensive rating (114.8) and struggled to consistently slow teams in the paint.
The defense didn’t become more talented on an individual level during the offseason. The Bulls swapped Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro, providing a more rugged defender than Ball was capable of being after his knee injury. But Donovan aims to overhaul the defense in the same way he revamped the offense last year.
It will require teamwide buy-in to be more physical at the point of attack and create disruptions as a unit. It also will depend on the improvement of several young players as individual defenders, primarily Buzelis and Ayo Dosunmu.
If Buzelis and Dosunmu can rise to elite status — and weaker defenders such as Giddey and Coby White can shore up their deficiencies — the Bulls might be able to put up more resistance than last season.
Preseason games aren’t a perfect testing ground for defensive improvement, but they at least will give a picture of how close the Bulls are to executing this new vision.
Photos: Scenes from Chicago Bulls media day at the United Center
2. Is Noa Essengue ready for NBA minutes?
The preseason also will set expectations for Essengue, whom the Bulls drafted with the No. 12 pick this summer.
Essengue won’t turn 19 until December. And that youth is a primary factor in how the Bulls will approach his first NBA season — by taking things very, very slow.
Bulls fans already sampled this style of rookie development last season, when Donovan limited Buzelis’ playing time for nearly 50 games before giving him a full workload. Essengue will get an even longer runway because of his age and experience playing in Europe, which means he might spend more time in the G League — and even less on the court with the Bulls.
But before the Bulls set the roadmap for Essengue’s rookie season, they need to see how he holds up in preseason games. Donovan highlighted footwork as a particular area of growth for Essengue, who is already confident in the open court but struggles at times in half-court offense and defense.
“He runs the floor very well; he’s not afraid to put his body in plays,” Donovan said. “But the physical part of things are going to continue (to be what) he’s going to have to work on.
“His feet offensively and defensively — guarding one-on-one in space, being able to handle the physicality in the game defensively — those would be things he needs to keep progressing at to improve upon, beyond his physicality.”
3. Who will be the fifth starter?
Bulls guard Kevin Huerter walks off the court after a loss to the Heat in the play-in tournament April 16, 2025, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The most pressing decision of the preseason involves the only undetermined position in the lineup: Which player will start at the three?
The Bulls are expected to run back last year’s starting lineup with White and Giddey in the backcourt and Buzelis anchoring the frontcourt with center Nikola Vučević. But the final slot for a shooting guard or small forward is undetermined
As the most significant offseason addition, Okoro might seem like the obvious choice — and his defensive fortitude certainly would be welcome in the lineup. But the Bulls also found success last season when they started Kevin Huerter to complement their pace with high-volume 3-point shooting. Donovan also has a fondness for leaning into three-guard lineups, which could give Dosunmu or Tre Jones a shot at starting at times this season.
Donovan said he isn’t putting much weight on rotations in the first week of exhibition games, but individual performances could play a role in the ultimate decision.
4. Will Coby White be ready for the opener?
Heat forwards Duncan Robinson (55) and Haywood Highsmith defend Bulls guard Coby White during the play-in tournament April 16, 2025, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The Bulls might start the season with a slightly incomplete roster as White continues to nurse a calf strain suffered during summer workouts. He hasn’t participated in team activities during training camp or been cleared for contact before this week’s preseason games.
White emphasized the Bulls are taking a cautious approach toward his injury rehabilitation, and the team hasn’t voiced concern about his long-term availability. With more than two weeks until the opener, he has plenty of time to return before the season starts.
5. Can Yuki Kawamura make the jump?
Bulls guard Yuki Kawamura records video clips during media day at the United Center on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Coaches, teammates and fans alike needed no time to warm to point guard Yuki Kawamura, whose every move in training camp has been tracked by a small crowd of traveling Japanese media. Kawamura’s talents stand out: He’s a sharpshooter from deep and moves the ball at a startling pace, which fits well with the up-tempo Bulls offense.
The preseason will provide another opportunity for Kawamura to test himself against the size and physicality of the NBA, which stand as the only barriers for the 5-foot-8 guard to make it in the league.
With a deep Bulls backcourt that includes backup options such as Jones, Kawamura is expected to spend the bulk of his two-way contract with the Windy City Bulls in the G League. Preseason performances are unlikely to shift those expectations, but they will offer valuable opportunities to showcase his skills to Donovan before the season begins.