Tiago Splitter is filling out his first Bulls coaching staff with veterans. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported Tuesday that Chicago is bringing in longtime assistants Rex Kalamian, Jonah Herscu and Blake Ahearn. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network reported the club will make the hires official soon.
All three were already around the team, spotted on the Chicago bench during Monday’s 80-63 Summer League loss to Utah’s reserve group, per Will Gottlieb.
The additions sit alongside a group of holdovers. Henry Domercant, Austin Dufault and Martin Rancik all carried over from Billy Donovan’s staff and remain with the club. Each is taking a turn as head coach for one Summer League game in Las Vegas.
Kalamian is the most established name in the group. The 57-year-old began coaching at his alma mater, East Los Angeles College, then spent 1995 to 2003 as a Los Angeles Clippers assistant. He returned to the Clippers under Doc Rivers from 2018 to 2020 and rejoined Rivers in Milwaukee from 2024 to 2026. In between he has worked for Denver, Minnesota, Sacramento on two separate occasions, Oklahoma City, Toronto and Detroit.
Ahearn, 42, went undrafted out of Missouri State in 2007 and played 19 NBA regular season games across stops with Miami, San Antonio and Utah. He also spent time in the D League and with pro clubs in Spain, Italy, China, Ukraine and Puerto Rico. He moved into coaching in 2015, spent two seasons as a high school head coach, then took over the Austin Spurs in the G League. From 2020 to 2024 he worked as an assistant under Taylor Jenkins in Memphis, an organization built around player development.
Herscu brings a direct Splitter connection. He was head coach of the Rip City Remix, the G League affiliate of Portland, where Splitter coached before Chicago hired him. Herscu also worked as an assistant with the Trail Blazers and the Kings.
What the new staff is inheriting in Las Vegas
Chicago opened Summer League 0-2, and the roster construction has been part of the problem. Without a natural point guard available, the Bulls have coughed up possessions and shot poorly from the free throw line.
Caleb Wilson has been the exception. The No. 4 pick is averaging 27.0 points through two games on 52.6 percent shooting from the field and from three, with 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, 2.0 steals and an assist per game. His 16.7 percent mark at the line is the outlier, though Summer League is using a single-attempt free throw that counts for two or three shots depending on the foul, which magnifies every miss.
Elsewhere the returns have been thinner. Rookie wing Dailyn Swain has been pressed into starting point guard duty and has struggled to score. Second-year forward Noa Essengue has looked more comfortable defensively than on offense. Two-way rookie Jaylin Sellers has shot with confidence without much efficiency to show for it.
Kalamian, Herscu and Ahearn all bring G League or development-heavy backgrounds to a roster that is going to need it.
