Four Players Day-To-Day As Splitter's First Camp Nears

By the Bulls Nightly Desk · Sunday, September 13

The Bulls are 0-0 heading into training camp under new coach Tiago Splitter, and four players are already day-to-day. Chicago used the week to lock in a Stacey King tribute while Josh Giddey talked openly about his jump shot.

Bulls Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

King gets his due. The Bulls confirmed plans to honor Stacey King during the 2026-27 season, per Bulls.com, the Sun-Times' Joe Cowley and Hoops Rumors on September 10. No specifics on the tribute itself were released yet.

Four already banged up. Dailyn Swain (wrist), Zach Collins (toe), Josh Giddey (right ankle) and Rob Dillingham (right wrist) are all day-to-day, each with an estimated return of October 1, just before preseason games begin.

Preseason slate is set. Chicago opens exhibition play October 7 against the Suns, hosts the Grizzlies on October 9, then goes on the road to Denver on October 11 (ESPN) and Milwaukee on October 14. The regular season opener is October 21 at Toronto.

Payroll sits under cap. The Bulls carry $161.5 million in payroll, under the cap and well shy of the $200.4 million luxury tax line. Giddey ($25.0M), Nic Claxton ($23.1M), Norman Powell ($21.5M), Patrick Williams ($18.0M) and Isaac Okoro ($11.8M) are the five biggest deals on the books.

Miller, Giddey trending up. Leonard Miller averaged 34.1 minutes a night over his final five games last season, an 18.5-minute jump from his season mark, and that number climbed another 22 minutes a night in the three games a teammate sat. Giddey logged three triple-doubles in his last 10 games last season.

Chatter keeps swirling. Giddey spent part of September on his offseason work, touching on Powell, Buzelis and his jump shot, per reporting from September 4, and he is the name attached to a September 11 Michael Scotto notes column grouping the Bulls with the Wizards, Hawks and Pistons. Separately, Pippen Ain't Easy's Andrew Hanlon argued the Bulls should make a run at Ryan Rollins.

On deck Preseason opens October 7 against the Suns, building toward the October 21 regular-season opener at Toronto. The open question is how many of the four day-to-day players are actually ready by then.

When do the Bulls start the 2026-27 season?

Chicago opens the regular season October 21 at Toronto, after four preseason games beginning October 7 against the Suns.

Is Josh Giddey injured?

Giddey is day-to-day with a right ankle issue and has an estimated return date of October 1.

By the Bulls Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.