Chicago Bulls reportedly hire Tiago Splitter as head coach

Zoom out: Splitter, who was the Blazers' interim coach last year, surprised the league and led Portland to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.

Zoom in: Splitter will take over from Billy Donovan, who was popular with the front office and the players on the roster, but didn't win in Chicago.

• Donovan finished 226-256 over six seasons, with just one playoff appearance.

State of play: The hire is the first major move by Bryan Graham, the new executive vice president of basketball operations.

• Graham, who was hired in May, has signaled the team's plan is to rebuild after the franchise cleaned house after last year's miserable season.
• That losing season netted the Bulls the No. 4 pick in this year's NBA draft, which is June 23.

Backstory: Splitter had a career playing in the NBA, bouncing from San Antonio to Atlanta to Philadelphia. After retiring, he took a job as a scout. In 2023, he was an assistant for the Houston Rockets and before joining the Blazers staff, he was the head coach of Paris Basketball in the Euroleague.

The intrigue: Splitter made the best of a young, talented roster in Portland, and Graham is hoping he can do the same with the Bulls.

• Besides the No. 4 pick, the team returns Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis and Anfernee Simons.
• They also have the No. 15 pick.

The bottom line: The Bulls are hoping Splitter can bring some magic to the United Center as the young team looks to build for the future.