The 2025 NBA offseason is zipped, sealed, and over with. Although a few interesting veteran free agents remain, and the seemingly never-ending restricted free agency debacle persists, which includes Josh Giddey, we’re now closer to the beginning of the 2025-26 season than the beginning of the offseason.

Thus, the Chicago Bulls have shifted their focus to preparing for the season, considering that training camp opens in less than a month. The Bulls’ roster is nearly finalized, with Giddey being the final piece to the puzzle.

Chicago already knows, but will soon see exactly what this roster needs to improve. Over the course of the offseason, the Bulls loaded up on versatile defenders, trading Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro and adding the tantalizing, yet raw, Noa Essengue in the first round of the NBA Draft.

The Chicago Bulls are in need of stout interior defenders

Nonetheless, the Bulls did nothing to resolve their interior defensive woes. Sure, reserve big man Zach Collins impressed in his short stint in the Windy City, but aside from Collins and Matas Buzelis’ weakside shot-blocking, the Bulls are listless on the interior.

Chicago allowed the most points in the paint per game last season—54.0. Although the Bulls’ blocked shots per game surprisingly ranked 18th in the NBA a season ago, it’s clear this roster lacks a true rim deterrent.

Yet, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, the Bulls have no room to add interior defensive reinforcements, unless a trade is made. However, with bigs Collins, Nikola Vucevic, and Jalen Smith already rostered, a trade is rather unlikely, especially considering the Bulls have tried time and time again to jettison Vooch, to no avail.

That leaves us with our sights set on next offseason. An offseason in which the Bulls will be flush in the financial department. Chicago only has seven players, excluding Giddey, under contract for the 2026-27 season. Of the seven players, only two will earn north of $10 million.

There’s a real opportunity for the Bulls to splurge. Nonetheless, the 2026 free agent class is a bit overstated. It’s littered with longtime veterans and players who will assuredly pick up their player options. However, there’s one unrestricted free agent Chicago must keep an eye on.

Mitchell Robinson presents a tantalizing free agent option for the Bulls

That’s New York Knicks’ center Mitchell Robinson, who is entering the final year of the four-year, $60 million extension he signed in 2022. While the Knicks would love to have Robinson back in the Big Apple, it’s quite possible that a new extension won’t be agreed upon. The Knicks reportedly would be willing to re-sign the 7-foot big man, but to a team-friendly extension.

New York is worried, and rightfully so, about Robinson’s lengthy injury history. The 27-year-old center has appeared in only 337 games across seven seasons. He’s dealt with various foot and ankle injuries and other maladies, such as a broken hand.

The ‘team-friendly’ approach makes sense, given Robinson’s injury concerns and that the Knicks are projected to be among the NBA’s costliest franchises over the next few years. Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby are all slated to earn more than $30 million in each of the next three seasons, with Towns bringing home $61 million alone in 2027-28. Not to mention Josh Hart, and the every impactful forward’s $62 million he’s also owed over the three campaigns.

New York will have to do some intense maneuvering of the salary cap, which will likely mean cutting ties with players such as Robinson, who’s surely keen on earning more than the taxpayer midlevel exception.

Although Robinson wouldn’t be the splashy signing many Bulls fans are hoping for in the 2026 offseason, he’d be a savvy one. The 7-foot center is a walking double-double per-36 minutes; his injury history has just always curtailed his playing time. Still, the potential is there. Robinson represents a high-risk, high-reward signing and one that likely won’t come at an egregious price.

Robinson held his opponents to 14.0 percent below average from under six feet in the last postseason action. Moreover, in 20.6 minutes per game, Robinson averaged 0.8 blocks across 18 playoff appearances. He’s coming off an impressive postseason performance, one that should carry into next offseason, proving his stock to be worthwhile.