Bulls choose Bryson Graham to lead their front office as executive VP of basketball operations
CHICAGO — Bryson Graham, who began his career as an intern in the New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations department, now will be in charge of bringing the Chicago Bulls back to respectability. The Bulls on Monday named Graham their new executive vice president of basketball operations, replacing Artūras Karnišovas, whom they fired April 6 along with general manager Marc Eversley. Graham will be responsible for hiring a new coach to replace Billy Donovan and guiding a rebuilding team into the next decade.
“I am incredibly honored to join the Chicago Bulls organization,” Graham said in a statement. “This is one of the most storied franchises in the history of professional basketball, and I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to deliver results for this city and these fans. “My entire career has been built on the belief that sustained success starts with finding the right players and developing an all-around impactful culture.
I want to thank Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf and the entire Bulls organization for presenting me with this opportunity. I am ready to get to work. ” Graham, 39, joined the Atlanta Hawks last year as senior vice president of basketball operations and shook up the organization by trading longtime star Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, re-energizing on the fly a team that finished with 46 wins, the franchise’s most since 2015-16.
His offseason signings include Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who was voted the NBA’s Most Improved Player. The Hawks made a second-half run that got them into the playoffs before losing in six games to the New York Knicks in the first round. Their 51-point loss in the decisive Game 6 was the most lopsided defeat in franchise history.
Bulls President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf, who led the search along with senior adviser of basketball operations John Paxson, called Graham an “elite talent evaluator who has earned tremendous respect across the league” and someone who has worked on every level from the ground up. “And that experience has given him a deep understanding of how to build and sustain a successful organization,” Reinsdorf said in a statement. “He is an effective communicator, a disciplined and thoughtful decision-maker and someone who truly connects with players and people.
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