On the surface, it wasn’t hard to decipher why the Chicago Bulls wanted Tiago Splitter. He checked several boxes as a candidate for an NBA team. He is a former player who spent time under some coaching legends, including Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. He’s young at 41 years old, which a rebuilding team like the Bulls will need. Most importantly, he has some head coaching experience. He won a league championship in France as the head of Paris Basketball and then helped elevate the Portland Trail Blazers to their first playoff berth in half a decade.
All valid reasons. However, there was an additional one that team ownership didn’t let slip during the interview process. Apparently, they were hoping to find somebody who had a good chance of elevating Matas Buzelis. Many in the building still feel the former 1st round pick has star potential, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. His second season was an improvement from his rookie year, but it was apparent he still has consistency issues. Buzelis finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists per night. His three-point percentage actually dropped from 36.1% as a rookie to 34.9%.
Tiago Splitter has important qualifications for this.
For starters, he played forward during his own NBA career. He has a unique understanding of the challenges that Buzelis faces and how best to overcome them. Then you can simply look to Splitter’s brief time as a coach. There is plentiful evidence suggesting he has the capability to elevate young forwards to play their best basketball. Two notable examples stand out. First was Nadir Hifi of Paris Basketball, whose points, assists, rebounds, and steals all improved after Splitter arrived in 2025. He ended up winning LNB Elite Top Scorer and Euroleague Rising Star honors.
Then you have Deni Avdija. When Portland acquired him in 2024, he was considered a solid forward who could probably get you around 17 points and seven rebounds a night. Splitter arrived and saw something more. Under his guidance, the 25-year-old broke out for 24 points and a career-high seven assists per game. This led to the first All-Star selection of his career.
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| Player | League & Season | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG | SPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nadir Hifi | LNB 2023–24 (Before) | 21.7 | 15.6 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 44.2% | 38.0% | 81.9% |
| Nadir Hifi | LNB 2024–25 (Under) | 22.5 | 18.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 43.4% | 39.1% | 87.3% |
| Deni Avdija | NBA 2024–25 (Before) | 30.0 | 16.9 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 1.0 | 47.6% | 36.5% | 78.0% |
| Deni Avdija | NBA 2025–26 (Under) | 33.3 | 24.2 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 0.8 | 46.2% | 31.8% | 80.2% |
You don’t often get layered hires like this.
Usually, when a time brings in a new coach, it is for one specific purpose or another. They want somebody who can develop young players. They want somebody who can manage veteran personalities. It isn’t every day that you want to bring in a guy who both fits your desire to develop young guys and, hopefully, also rescues a specific player. Tiago Splitter fit those criteria for the Bulls, which further explains why they moved on him so quickly once it became clear Portland was trying to lowball him on a new contract.
There are no excuses left for Buzelis. If the former 1st round truly is destined for stardom, he’s been given the perfect setup. He’ll have no competition for his spot at small forward, still has a good point guard who can feed him the ball, and now has a head coach with the necessary expertise to expand his game. The vision is clear. Chicago hopes to hit it big in this upcoming draft on at least one of their 1st round picks while also getting Buzelis up to All-Star status. If they succeed, the Bulls will be a resurgent power in the East.
