Tiago Splitter Hired To Develop Next Era of Baby Bulls

A chance at a third straight series win was washed away due to a rain postponement yesterday. Even so, they are winners of 6 of their last 9 games and won both series prior to the weekend. The Cubs took 2 of 3 against the Rockies thanks to a wild comeback on Monday and a 1st inning explosion on Wednesday. They should have won both games against the Blue Jays, but the bullpen let a 5-0 lead vanish into the Wrigley sun on Saturday. Thankfully for the Cubs, Pete Crow-Armstrong has put the team on his back. He had a laughably good week (.550 AVG, 5 R, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB) and is in the midst of a historical June. He’s currently 1st in MLB with a 4.6 fWAR!

The turnaround has been slower than we hoped, but the Cubs are heading in the right direction. Even though the wounded pitching staff will continue to have its ups and downs, the key to winning games again is the offense clawing its way back out of the giant pit they put themselves in. They have now scored 5+ runs in 7 of their last 9 games, had a 7-run inning in 2 straight games, and walked more than they struck out this week (35 BB to 33 K). When the lineup was thriving, they were grinding at-bats and showing 2016-level plate discipline. After this recent stretch, they’re sitting in a Wild Card spot with a revitalized approach, an MVP leading off every day, and other contributors getting hot like Matt Shaw, Seiya Suzuki, and Carson Kelly.

The long break before training camp has officially begun. I bet Ben Johnson will enjoy the 1 minute of vacation he’ll gift himself!

The Blackhawks head into Friday’s draft with the 4th overall pick, three 2nd round picks, and 4 other picks. Kyle Davidson typically moves around on draft night, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them package 2nd rounders to move back up into the 1st round. I’m still hopeful Ivar Stenberg is there for them at #4, but if not, Caleb Malhotra would be a worthwhile center addition for them. All forwards going #1 through #3 would be the worst case scenario.

Tiago Splitter is the 25th head coach in franchise history. He brings a global resume and career full of accolades to Chicago. He won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs as a player in 2014, won the French Cup as a coach in 2025, and led the Portland Trail Blazers to a playoff berth last season after unexpectedly becoming their interim head coach in the 2nd game of the season.

This appears to be a good hire. Splitter has a scouting and player development background, and the Bulls are desperately in need of a talent resurgence. Hopefully he and Bryson Graham form a cohesive duo. It’s a promising pairing since they cover the frontcourt and backcourt, international and domestic basketball, and front office and coaching perspectives. They’re 41 and 39-years old, respectively, and represent a youth movement reminiscent of the Bears (Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson).

The Bulls head into Tuesday’s draft with the 4th overall pick, 15th overall pick, and two 2nd round picks. Thanks to Splitter’s coaching, the Blazers’ pick is theirs in the 1st round. He could be seen as the “development” coach, or the “A to B” coach who starts a rebuild, but adding top talents to a core featuring Matas Buzelis could mean the next era of Bulls basketball will be formed this week.

The Bulls need to draft Caleb Wilson or Cam Boozer at #4.

The lottery balls landed perfectly when the Bulls jumped up to the 4th overall pick in this week’s NBA Draft. This is a dream scenario in a draft largely recognized for its top 4 players. After AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and Caleb Wilson, the talent supposedly falls off a cliff.

Whichever player ends up being available at #4 would be an excellent acquisition; however, Dybantsa appears to be the consensus 1st overall pick and will be off the board. With that in mind, the Bulls need one of the wings to fall into their lap. Peterson has question marks regarding his health and work ethic, and I don’t want the Bryson Graham Bulls to begin their journey on the shoulders of a scoring guard. I want a two-way wing to be their new franchise player.

Both players have a high ceiling coming off of a single year of college experience. Wilson’s athleticism and rim scoring and Boozer’s scoring prowess and fundamentals can make either one a star player in the NBA. They each have flaws, but they’re extremely young. Plus, when Wilson was asked about potentially coming to the Bulls, he talked about changing the culture. That’s the attitude I want in Chicago.