Chicago Bulls

Acquired Nic Claxton in the three-team Randle deal to anchor the defense, then added veteran wing scoring by signing Norman Powell (2yr/$45M) and retained Zach Collins as frontcourt depth. Anfernee Simons departed for Philadelphia on the MLE and Nick Richards ultimately signed with Miami. In September the Bulls cashed in Rob Dillingham (plus incoming cash) for Buddy Hield, swapping a developmental guard for a proven shooter behind Josh Giddey and Powell, with lottery talent Matas Buzelis on the wing — still no true franchise cornerstone, and thinner behind Claxton at the five. Now $1.9M over the cap and hard-capped at the first apron, this is a play-in hopeful banking on internal growth and deadline consolidation.

Triggered the 1st-apron hard cap (non-taxpayer MLE) — team salary cannot exceed $209.0M at any point this season.

2026-27 figures verified against Spotrac and HoopsRumors reporting. View full cap sheet on the Salary Cap page.