2026 Bulls Media Day and a Buddy Hield trade!

2026 Bulls Media Day arrived Monday to officially tip off training camp, but before that, the Bulls traded Rob Dillingham to the Hornets for Buddy Hield. Dillingham was almost immediately waived by the Hornets, while Hield will bring a veteran presence, elite shooting and a possible trade chip to Chicago. After breaking down the Hield trade, Ricky and Jason go through their biggest takeaways from Media Day. Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter got the ball rolling and stressed that the Bulls are at the ground floor of a rebuild and that this upcoming season will focus on development. But while there may not be a lot of wins this season, there can still be plenty of fun.Graham also discussed his first offseason in charge and noted the trade market didn't develop as hoped when it came to acquiring more draft assets, so he used the Bulls' robust cap space to acquire vets Nic Claxton and Norman Powell to improve the floor of the team. The Bulls still have flexibility and there will be more opportunities for moves during the season, but Graham isn't going to mortgage the future for short-term gain. Graham is talking the talk so far, but he needs to prove soon he can walk th walk. On the injury front, Zach Collins is predictably already hurting, though he should be back relatively soon. Josh Giddey is at 100% after offseason ankle surgery, and everybody else is good to go. As for the biggest player storylines, everything revolves around Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis. The hype train is going full steam ahead for Wilson, though Graham wants to temper expectations and not go too overboard. Buzelis is looking forward to more "freedom" on both ends of the court, and his shot diet is going to be a big talking point this season as he looks to diversify his offensive skill set and take more mid-range shots. Fans will be paying close attention to how Splitter handles Wilson and Buzelis after complaints of Billy Donovan's short leash for Buzelis. How rookie Dailyn Swain bounces back from a terrible Summer League will also be something to watch, and Splitter noted it has been a night and day difference at training camp. There hasn't been a whole lot about Noa Essengue, but Splitter noted he's looking aggressive early in camp. The Bulls will have about a week of training camp before their first preseason game on Oct. 7 against the Suns. Interested in advertising on this podcast? Email sales@bluewirepods.com! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.