Bulls rumors: New VP Bryson Graham may look to former Pelicans colleagues to fill front office

On Monday, the Chicago Bulls announced the hiring of Bryson Graham as the Executive VP of Basketball Operations. The first step in Chicago’s organizational overhaul following the firings of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley and the departure of head coach Billy Donovan.

The next step will be to fill the remaining positions in the front office. Apparently, Graham will consult with former colleagues, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network. Given that Graham will have free will to hire whom he wants, he may look towards former colleagues from the New Orleans Pelicans who had worked in Chicago.

According to Johnson, Graham is tied to Brian Hagen, former senior director of player personnel for New Orleans. In 2012, Hagen was hired as the assistant general manager for the Bulls. He was promoted to Director of Player Personnel in 2023.

Furthermore, Graham knows JJ Polk. Polk has been the Bulls’ assistant general manager since 2020.

Plus, Graham had worked with Chicago’s other assistant GM, Pat Connelly’s brother, Tim, in New Orleans. Tim was the assistant GM from 2010 to 2013. Currently, Tim is the President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Graham spent 15 years (2010 to 2025) with the Pelicans, going from basketball operations intern to general manager in 2024. During that stretch, Graham was the player development director, video coordinator/player development coach, scouting coordinator, director of college scouting, and assistant general manager.

He helped acquire the 2025-26 NBA Most Improved Player winner, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, as well as the NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, Dyson Daniels. Graham is coming off being the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Atlanta Hawks.

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