Bulls Notebook: Return Dates Set, a New Voice in the Booth

Four hurt, one date. Dailyn Swain, Zach Collins, Josh Giddey and Rob Dillingham are all listed day-to-day, and all four carry the same estimated return date of October 1. Swain and Collins are dealing with wrist and toe issues; Giddey has a right ankle; Dillingham a right wrist.

New voice in the booth. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Bulls are rotating TV analysts to replace the late Stacey King, and the team posted its full 2026-27 broadcast schedule on Bulls.com. Splitter's first season now has a call to go with it.

Front office paperwork. Bulls.com also posted basketball operations staff updates for the 2026-27 season, the kind of procedural announcement that rarely says much on its own but confirms Bryson Graham's operation is settling into its final shape before camp opens.

Jones' bench habit. Last season Tre Jones scored 20 or more off the bench four times in his last five games, turning a reserve role into a scoring habit. If that holds with a full season under Splitter, it changes what the second unit looks like.

Minutes tell on absences. When a teammate sat last season, Rob Dillingham's minutes jumped by 13 a night over his last three games, and Patrick Williams averaged 34 minutes, 14 above his season mark, in the same situation. Both are now on the injury list themselves.

Preseason four games away. The preseason opens October 7 against the Suns, then the Grizzlies on October 9, the Nuggets on October 11 on ESPN, and the Bucks on October 14. The regular season opener is set for October 21 at the Raptors.