{"id":779955,"date":"2026-07-06T21:45:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/779955\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:45:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:45:25","slug":"tiago-splitter-will-coach-chicago-bulls-in-nba-summer-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/779955\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiago Splitter will coach Chicago Bulls in NBA Summer League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago\u2019s first glimpse of Tiago Splitter\u2019s system will come months earlier than expected.<\/p>\n

Splitter will coach the Bulls\u2019 first two NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas: Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies and July 13 against the Utah Jazz. After those games, Splitter will hand off head coaching duties to assistants Martin Rancik, Henry Domercant and Austin Dufault.<\/p>\n

Established NBA head coaches rarely coach in summer league, which typically serves as an opportunity for assistants or G League coaches to cut their teeth while wrangling a short-term roster of mostly undrafted first-, second- and third-year players.<\/p>\n

But Splitter feels a hands-on approach is necessary. This is his first year in Chicago. And after stepping in as the Portland Trail Blazers interim coach last October, this is also his first summer as a head coach. Building a system takes time<\/a> \u2014 and Splitter doesn\u2019t want to waste any.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to set the tone on this first summer league camp,\u201d Splitter said. \u201cEspecially having guys like Caleb (Wilson)<\/a> and Dailyn (Swain)<\/a> that we drafted, they\u2019re going to be important for this organization. So I want to just set the tone and work with the staff and get familiar with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Splitter, one key to summer league is building his relationship with the two new draftees and 2025 first-round pick Noa Essengue<\/a>, all three of whom are expected to play in all five summer league games. Other names on the roster might catch the attention of Chicago basketball fans \u2014 most notably Boo Bouie, who went undrafted in 2024 after setting Northwestern\u2019s career scoring record<\/a> \u2014 but the focus will land mostly on that young trio.<\/p>\n

Splitter hopes to build an identity for the Bulls on the defensive end, creating a stalwart style that bleeds into the offense. And in summer league, he will emphasize one area that will become familiar in the regular season: winning the possession battle.<\/p>\n

The Bulls can\u2019t afford to allow their opponents to take more shots. While the roster remains malleable as free agency continues<\/a>, the Bulls aren\u2019t set up to shoot with high efficiency as they focus on improving the shots of players such as Wilson, Essengue and Matas Buzelis.<\/p>\n

With time and development, those players could turn into more proficient shooters. But in the immediate future, the Bulls will need to be a drive-first team that wins games by outrebounding and outdefending their opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou definitely want to put them in a good situation,\u201d Splitter said. \u201cTry to play fast and try to get to the basket and to the paint and to rebounds. That\u2019s how I envision this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Bulls arrive in Las Vegas on Wednesday, they will draw greater fanfare than in many prior seasons.<\/p>\n

\"BullsBulls forward Caleb Wilson speaks to the media as he sits next to executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham at an introductory news conference Friday, June 26, 2026, at the Advocate Center. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

As the No. 4 pick in a highly rated draft class<\/a>, Wilson is one of the highest-profile selections the Bulls have made in the last decade. Their first three games are against the top three picks: AJ Dybantsa (Washington Wizards), Darryn Peterson (Jazz) and Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies). Each of their first four games will be played at the Thomas & Mack Center, the main stage of the summer league circus.<\/p>\n

But Splitter doesn\u2019t want this summer league stint to define or distract his young core from its long-term goals. The next two weeks will inform the coaching staff about many aspects of the team \u2014 individual strengths and weaknesses, realistic expectations for players\u2019 roles and goals for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Although it will provide a glimpse into his system and style as a head coach, Splitter emphasized a realistic outlook on his summer league debut with the Bulls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be worried about our team \u2014 about their development, how they\u2019re approaching every day, how we are creating good habits,\u201d Splitter said. \u201cThis is a long run. This is not about this summer. (It\u2019s) how we create habits for these young people, these young players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how I approach summer league. We\u2019ve got to learn how to work every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBA Summer League<\/p>\n

Thursday-July 19, Las Vegas<\/p>\n

Bulls games<\/p>\n

Friday: vs. Grizzlies, 7 p.m., Prime
\nJuly 13: vs. Jazz, 8 p.m., ESPN
\nJuly 14: vs. Wizards, 7 p.m., Prime
\nJuly 16: vs. Lakers, 5 p.m., Prime
\nJuly 17-19: TBD<\/p>\n

Bulls roster<\/p>\n

0 Kennedy Chandler, G, 6-0
\n2 Jaylin Sellers, G, 6-4
\n5 Dailyn Swain, F, 6-7
\n8 Caleb Wilson, F, 6-10
\n13 Antonio Reeves, G, 6-5
\n15 Jalen Washington, C, 6-10
\n18 Grant Newell, F, 6-9
\n19 Tobe Awaka, F, 6-8
\n20 Boo Buie, G, 6-2
\n21 Donovan Atwell, F, 6-5
\n22 Malik Williams, C, 6-11
\n24 Noa Essengue, F, 6-11
\n29 Keyshawn Bryant, F, 6-6
\n34 Charles Bediako, F, 6-11
\n95 Houston Mallette, G, 6-5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago\u2019s first glimpse of Tiago Splitter\u2019s system will come months earlier than expected. Splitter will coach the Bulls\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":779956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3771],"tags":[7,41777,920,7146,919,329,3824,20708,6,12,3494,2282,15840],"class_list":["post-779955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-bulls","tag-basketball","tag-boo-buie","tag-bulls","tag-caleb-wilson","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-chicagobulls","tag-dailyn-swain","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-summer-league","tag-noa-essengue","tag-tiago-splitter"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116875226452639409","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}