CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls are finalizing an agreement to hire Tiago Splitter as their new head coach.

Bryson Graham was appointed as the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Bulls. Former Bulls executives Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley were dismissed from their roles on April 6, and Billy Donovan stepped down as head coach on April 21 after six seasons.

Splitter, 41, previously served as the interim head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2025-26 season. He was promoted to this role after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested then-head coach Chauncey Billups as part of a gambling case investigation. Under Splitter's leadership, the Trail Blazers won 42 games and qualified for the NBA playoffs.

Splitter said, "Usually, the good things are simple. When you rehearse one situation over and over and over again, guys just get used to playing and they play better and they read the situations better. I believe that a team doesn't need many sets to play well." Portland player Deni Avdija earned his first All-Star selection while playing under Splitter. Avdija said, "He's done phenomenal. He's getting the best out of everybody. He's believing in each single one of his players."

Portland Trail Blazers ownership declined to match the contract terms offered by the Bulls to Splitter, which allowed the hiring to proceed. Before his interim head coaching role, Splitter worked as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets beginning in 2023. He also coached Paris Basketball to a 2025 French Cup title.

The Bulls considered Wes Unseld Jr., Micah Nori, and Ryan Schmidt as finalists for the head coaching vacancy. Graham said, "In terms of what we're looking for, we're looking for someone who is smart, we're looking for someone that can lead, and someone that has a really high character. We are going to try and find the coach that can coach both sides of the ball and care about both sides of the ball."

As a player, Splitter won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 before retiring in 2017. He held scouting and player development positions with the Brooklyn Nets after his playing career.

The Chicago Bulls finished the 2025-26 season with a 31-51 record and hold the fourth and 15th overall picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.