Three big questions Bulls must answer heading into the 2025-26 season

The Chicago Bulls are continuing their rebuilding efforts as the 2025-26 season approaches, but there are already signs of how the roster will look in the next few years. Josh Giddey has committed his future to the franchise, Matas Buzelis looks like a future star and Noa Essengue could be the next young talent to emerge. 

When you add in the presence of Coby White and Nikola Vucevic, there are certainly reasons to be optimistic. Nevertheless, the Bulls enter the season with a similar trajectory to what we saw from them in the last campaign: they're a play-in team. 

Of course, at this stage of their developmental timeline, being a play-in team is more than enough. However, if the Bulls want to take a step forward, they will need to answer these three big questions over the coming months.

What will happen with Coby White?

Fresh off Giddey's restricted free agency, the Bulls are facing another contractual headache. White has taken significant developmental steps in recent years and is now a genuine 20-point-per-game scorer. Therefore, his value around the league is more than the $12.8 million he's earning this season, which is also the final year of his current contract.

After committing $25 million per year to Giddey, the Bulls front office must decide how much it's willing to invest in its backcourt. If White is going to be too costly to keep, the franchise should explore his trade market ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

The last thing Chicago needs is a season of speculation surrounding White's future, especially if it all ends with him walking away next summer without anything coming back in return.

Will Billy Donovan give Buzelis a bigger role? 

Buzelis emerged as a future star for the Bulls during his rookie season. He slowly earned a bigger role in the rotation as the season wore on and could now become an anchor to the organization's rebuilding efforts. 

In 80 games, Buzelis averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists, shooting the rock at a 45.4 percent clip. However, it was his movement, decision-making, all-action style and confidence that really captured the fanbase's attention. 

Given Buzelis' impressive rookie year, it will be interesting to see whether Donovan increases his role in the upcoming season. After all, if Buzelis continues to develop at a rapid pace, he could have a sizeable impact on the team's fortunes, both this season and beyond. 

Turning pace into production

The Bulls ranked second in the NBA in pace of play last season, one spot behind the Memphis Grizzlies. However, they failed to turn their additional possessions into impactful moments. Donovan's team ranked 20th in the NBA in offensive rating (113.2 points per 100 possessions) and 19th for defensive rating (allowing 114.8 points per 100 possessions). 

The point of playing fast is to maximize the number of possessions you get per game. However, those possessions are only valuable if you make use of the opportunity. Luckily for the Bulls, they have a clear next step, and that is to improve their offensive and defensive production, looking to get closer to a middle-of-the-pack ranking. 

Doing so would mark a sizeable improvement and would be a clear display of progress from a young and developing team. Whether they can accomplish such gains this season will be the biggest question on everybody's mind, but it's certainly an attainable target.