Bulls hire Hawks executive Bryson Graham to head front office - ESPN

The Chicago Bulls are hiring Atlanta Hawks senior vice president Bryson Graham as their new executive vice president of basketball operations, the team announced Monday.

Graham spent 15 years in New Orleans (2010-15), rising from an intern in 2010-11 to general manager in 2024-25 with the Pelicans. Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh recruited Graham as his top executive last summer out of New Orleans, and Graham now becomes the Bulls' top decision-maker.

Graham, 39, is known across the NBA for having a tremendous scouting eye. His drafting track record includes finds such as Trey Murphy III (drafted 17th), Herbert Jones (35th), Dyson Daniels (eighth) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17th), with the latter two going on to win Most Improved Player awards in back-to-back years.

Graham also helped facilitate negotiations between the Pelicans and the Hawks during the draft last year that saw Atlanta gain New Orleans' 2026 first-round pick, one of the more coveted draft assets in the league this year.

«He has worked his way up through basketball operations from the ground level, and that experience has given him a deep understanding of how to build and sustain a successful organization,» the Bulls said in its statement Monday. «He is an effective communicator, a disciplined and thoughtful decision-maker, and someone who truly connects with players and people. He understands today's league, today's players, and what it takes to develop talent and build a winning culture.»

The Bulls conducted in-person interviews with candidates last week and mulled over three finalists — Graham, Detroit Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey and Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd — over the weekend before deciding on Graham on