The Chicago Bulls hired Bryson Graham to be their new executive vice president earlier this week, placing him at the top of their organizational chain when it comes to basketball operations.
The move was met with some pushback from fans, who wondered why the Bulls passed on Minnesota Timberwolves exec Matt Lloyd to hire Graham, but nevertheless, the fanbase will just have to accept the decision.
Graham had been serving as Atlanta Hawks senior vice president prior to taking the job in Chicago, and before that, he spent 15 years with the New Orleans Pelicans’ organization, eventually working his way up into the general manager role.
Because the Pelicans did not exactly enjoy my success during Graham’s time there, he doesn’t have the most sparkling reputation, but he did do a tremendous job during his lone season with the Hawks, and the Bulls obviously took notice.
On that note, a rather wild Graham story has resurfaced from his brief time in Atlanta.
Chicago Bulls executive Bryson Graham pulled off a heist
Sep 30, 2024; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans general manager Bryson Graham takes part in Pelicans Media Day at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Last summer, Graham pulled off a remarkable trade for the Hawks, sending the No. 13 overall pick to the Pelicans (Graham’s former team, ironically enough) in exchange for the No. 23 selection and an unprotected 2026 first-round draft choice.
New Orleans proceeded to select Maryland big man Derik Queen with the 13th pick, and Atlanta nabbed Georgia big man Asa Newell at No. 23.
The Hawks now own the seventh overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft as a result of the deal, making it quite the steal for Atlanta. And when the trade was initially proposed, Graham was apparently in a state of shock, as Pelicans insider Shamit Dua noted.
“One Eastern executive with knowledge of how the conversation went from Atlanta’s perspective described a perplexing scene,” Dua wrote. “When Senior Vice President Troy Weaver made the call to Atlanta’s Bryson Graham, Graham couldn’t believe what was actually being offered. Graham asked for clarification multiple times to confirm the unprotected pick was indeed part of the deal.”
In fact, Graham called Pelicans president Joe Dumars to “triple check.”
To be fair, this isn’t much of a feather in Graham’s cap. It’s more of a once-in-a-lifetime type of trade that just fell into his lap. But it still makes for a rather amusing anecdote.
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