The Bulls, who are in the process of filling out Tiago Splitter‘s coaching staff as he prepares for his first year on the job, will hire Rex Kalamian, Jonah Herscu, and Blake Ahearn as assistants, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Kalamian is a longtime NBA assistant who has worked for eight different teams since 1995 and was most recently on Milwaukee’s staff under Doc Rivers. Herscu, a former Lakers and Kings assistant, was in Portland with Splitter as an assistant and also coached the Rip City Remix in the G League last season. Ahearn, a former NBA guard, coached the Spurs’ G League team from 2017-20 and was a Grizzlies assistant under Taylor Jenkins from 2020-24.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

• In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Jamal Collier takes a look at the dysfunction in Chicago under the previous front office regime, detailing how a number of executives who worked under Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley didn’t feel as if their voices were being heard and noting that there was confusion about whether the Bulls’ tanking-averse approach was an edict from the ownership level or if it reflected Karnisovas’ and Eversley’s shared philosophy.
• Within his story, Collier shares several quotes from new head of basketball operations Bryson Graham, who spoke to ESPN about his belief that he and a collaborative front office can “build something special” in Chicago. “I’m not trying to come in and overcorrect. I’m just leading in the way that I believe is the proper way to lead,” Graham said. “As you make decisions, you might convince your group when it gets down to the nitty-gritty. But earlier in the process, you just want to take in, and you want to hear from [everyone], and you want everyone focused on trying to give their absolute best to help make the right decision. And then ultimately I’ll take that information, process it and do what I need to.”
• Multiple team sources told ESPN that the Bulls’ vision has been clearer this offseason than in recent years, with one basketball operations staffer oferring the following insight to Collier when discussing the changes since Graham has been hired: “There’s a very, very, very different vibe. Everybody feels it. We’re meeting. A group. Beyond four people. Talking about the draft, free agency, hiring a coach. It’s not under a cloak of secrecy. We’re not finding out from an (ESPN alert).”
• Second-year Bulls forward Noa Essengue spoke to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (YouTube link) about his recovery from shoulder surgery, being “pain-free” while working out, and what new head coach Splitter wants to see from him.