Dailyn Swain’s summer league struggles framed the need. Josh Giddey’s offensive possessions visualize the need. Matas Buzelis’ podcast conversation with former Bulls teammate Lonzo Ball articulated the need.
The Bulls' biggest skill need, besides shooting, is decision-making.
In the modern NBA, decision-making is underrated as a universal basketball skill that all five players must demonstrate competence in applying to their game.
In the Bulls’ player context of Swain, Giddey, and Buzelis, the rookie Swain’s inability to create any offense with the ball in his hand during Las Vegas Summer League magnified a sizeable development need to accelerate his processing of the game at NBA speed.
Feb 28, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) controls the ball during a game against the Toronto Raptors at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
For all the Bulls fan accolades Josh Giddey receives for passing or triple-doubles, Giddey is also a prominent NBA statistical leader in turnovers.
Giddey finished the 2025-26 NBA season league-ranked with the fifth-highest individual player turnover percentage (19.3%) according to Basketball Reference. Clearly, Giddey should continue to evolve his decision-making as the Bulls’ presumed primary ball-handler.
Buzelis, while appearing on Lonzo Ball's Ball in the Family Podcast, cited a specific objective in his decision to play in 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying games for the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team: to learn how to make better basketball decisions in his game, with emphasis on the off-ball aspects of his game.
" I was trying to figure out how to make decisions before catching the ball. "
Matas Buzelis
A popular learning framework that is proliferating throughout the NBA and other professional sports, to boost decision-making skills in athletes, is the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA).
Jared Weiss of The Athletic wrote an in-depth column (subscription required) on CLA, and its applications across the NBA, WNBA, Major League Baseball, and The Premier League football (soccer) association.
Jun 17, 2026; Chicago, Il, USA; New Chicago Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter looks on during a press conference at Advocate Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Assuming the Bulls aren’t utilizing this approach yet in their player development program, perhaps it’s time to introduce this learning method into the Bulls organization, given the changes that have already occurred within the franchise’s front office and coaching staff during the 2026 NBA offseason.
The abstract on CLA
In an NBA basketball context, CLA fundamentally transforms what a basketball practice should look like for players.
"It’s all about making the best decision in that specific situation, not perfecting a single move."
Jared Weiss
Instead of conventional practice sessions that teach repetitive drills or rigid plays, players are put into context-dependent situations that represent real game scenarios, which are also modified with a variety of constraints or random variables that challenge players to use their judgement to solve the challenge within the scenario.
For the Bulls, maybe a CLA-style drill might look like Josh Giddey playing exclusively against a full-court press defense and being forced to dribble the ball across half-court and lead his team to end the possession with a score within 24 seconds.
Alternatively, Matas Buzelis' CLA-drill could be exclusively focused on making reads to get to open space with a hyper-physical defender attached to him.
Mar 26, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) dribbles the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers in the second half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the West Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Judging by Dailyn Swain’s summer league performance, his CLA drill should be to do his best impressions of Lonzo Ball-style hit ahead passess to shrink his decision-making until he scales up to executing reliable on-ball possessions in half-court offensive scenarios.
Perhaps there are alternative approaches Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter has in mind to bolster decision-making on his roster.
Whether it is CLA or something else, the point is clear: the 2026-27 Bulls must grow collectively in their basketball decision-making abilities.
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