The Chicago Bulls are set to field one of the NBA’s youngest rosters next season, leaning heavily on their youth with four of five projected starters age 25 or younger. The lone exception is 34-year-old Nikola Vucevic, who not only anchors the lineup as the veteran presence but also stands as the roster’s oldest player by over five years.

Of course, 22-year-old Josh Giddey technically isn’t a Bull. Chicago’s incumbent starting point guard remains a free agent with no resolution in sight. Still, he’s widely expected to return—either on a long-term deal or, as a last resort, the one-year qualifying offer.

Joining Giddey and Vucevic are 20-year-old sophomore Matas Buzelis and 25-year-old guard Coby White. That leaves one starting spot up for grabs, which is most likely going to 24-year-old Isaac Okoro over returnees Patrick Williams and Kevin Huerter. Okoro holds the edge thanks to his elite point-of-attack defense, a necessity given Chicago’s backcourt features two subpar defenders.

With nearly every Bulls starter still in the development phase, along with several young reserves, the focus here will be on one key area of improvement for every player 24 or younger. That means Coby White, Tre Jones, and Jalen Smith are excluded from this exercise.

Matas Buzelis

Area of growth: Playmaking

We’ll start with Buzelis, not because he’s the most tantalizing player on this list (though he is), but simply because we’re going alphabetically. The 6-foot-10 forward came to the NBA pegged as a jumbo-playmaker. Pre-draft, Bleacher Report compared Buzelis to the likes of Lamar Odom, Hedo Turkoglu, and Franz Wagner.

However, Buzelis didn’t display much playmaking in his rookie season. He totaled nearly as many turnovers (74) as he did assists (79). Moreover, almost 70 percent of Buzelis’ twos and just about all his three-point attempts were assisted. Unlocking Buzelis starts with giving him more on-ball reps. He flashed how effective he can be with the ball in his hands during Summer League, which should translate into the regular season.

Noa Essengue

Area of growth: Physicality

Noa Essengue is the lone player on the list to not suit up for the Bulls a season ago. The 18-year-old was the 12th-overall pick in June’s draft. Being the second-youngest player in his draft class, Essengue has plenty to improve. Thus, selecting physicality as the Frenchman’s primary area of growth is certainly a cop out.

Three-point shooting, ball handling, and isolation defense stand out as Essengue’s primary areas for improvement. However, Essengue’s physicality, or lack thereof, was evident in the Summer League. The 6-foot-10 forward often found himself pushed around, leading to costly turnovers. Adding muscle and getting acquainted with the NBA’s physicality are crucial for Essengue’s development.

Josh Giddey

Area of growth: Perimeter defense

The aforementioned Giddey has 280 games under his belt through four seasons, with just a single appearance off the bench. Yet, he still has room to grow. Just last season, the Aussie mightily improved his three-point shot, going from 33.7 to 37.8 percent while upping his volume by a third.

Next on Giddey’s to-do list is perimeter defense. The 6-foot-8 guard was torched in the Bulls’ most important game of the season, routinely letting his opponent waltz to the rim. Giddey can hold his own in and around the paint, but he’s far too flat-footed on the perimeter. Among 176 guards and wings to play at least 1,000 minutes, Giddey ranked 96th in CraftedNBA’s catch-all defensive metric.

Isaac Okoro

Area of growth: Off-the-bounce scoring

Chicago’s newest addition, Okoro, is a five-year professional, but like Giddey, he’s still progressing. Okoro has made a living on defense thus far in his career. A season ago, Okoro ranked 39th amongst 176 guards and wings in CraftedDPM. His offense is another story. Using CraftedNBA’s catch-all offensive metric, Okoro placed 117th among 177 guards and wings.

The Auburn product has largely been reduced to a spot-up shooter, a role he filled effectively in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. However, he doesn’t do much else. Okoro averaged merely 1.7 drives per game (0.1 more than Jevon Carter)—and he only attempted a field goal on a third of such instances. Furthermore, he averaged 0.2 pull-up jumpers per game and converted them at a 23.1 percent clip. Okoro needs to find comfort with the ball in his hands and within the three-point line.

Julian Phillips

Area of growth: On-ball anything

Julian Phillips is like Okoro to an extent. He’s a solid defender, but hasn’t found his niche on offense. Phillips is primarily a spot-up shooter or cutter. 67.1 percent of Phillips’ field goals a season ago were dunks or threes. Of the 6-foot-8 forward’s 287 field goal attempts, 22 came between five and 19 feet.

At 1.1 per game, Phillips averaged fewer drives than Okoro, finishing them at just a 35.7 percent clip. Unlike Okoro, Phillips didn’t even register an average on pull-up jumpers. He attempted only two all season long. The 21-year-old must expand his offensive game to offer more than just finishing at the rim and spot-up threes.

Dalen Terry

Area of growth: Volume spot-up shooting

The Bulls drafted Dalen Terry 18th overall in 2022, and while the 6-foot-7 forward has shown flashes of solid defense, his offensive game remains a major work in progress. He has yet to carve out a niche. Terry isn’t necessarily impactful with the ball in his hands, but he’s not much of a spot-up shooter either.

Terry shot a career-high 35.6 percent from beyond the arc last season, but he only averaged 1.4 three-point attempts per game. Looking ahead, Terry isn’t likely to handle the ball much, especially as a lower-rotation piece on a roster featuring Giddey, Jones, White, and even Ayo Dosunmu. That means he’ll need to maximize his limited opportunities, most of which will continue to come off the catch.

Patrick Williams

Area of growth: Confidence

Since being taken fourth overall in 2020, Williams has felt more like a projection than a finished product. Williams flashed tantalizing potential as a rookie, but has yet to put it all together five years later. On the plus side, he’s somehow only 23-years-old.

There’s still time for Williams to grow, and next season will be unlike many others. Williams will come off the bench in a full-time capacity for the first time in his career. He won’t have to cede touches to Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan. He’ll suit up alongside and against reserves. Showing an increased level of aggression will be paramount for Williams in his new role. The 6-foot-7 forward has shown he can score efficiently, but has never done so with much volume.