TORONTO — Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons are still catching their breath.
The pair of guards barely had time to stop their heads from spinning in the hours between their respective trades — Ivey from the Detroit Pistons, Simons from the Boston Celtics — as they caught up with their new team to make their Chicago Bulls debut Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors. The turnaround afforded just enough time to practice with the team during shootaround in the morning and meet with coach Billy Donovan during the afternoon break.
Chicago Bulls made 7 deals and parted with 8 players: Recapping their NBA trade deadline moves
Those initial meetings shared a common theme: Get ready to run.
The Bulls are the fourth-fastest team in the NBA. That won’t change despite the fact they parted ways with eight players ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, completely overhauling the majority of the roster. Donovan doesn’t believe the Bulls can afford to switch up their style to accommodate new personnel.
For Simons — who previously played for the Boston Celtics, the slowest-paced team in the league — it was a harsh adjustment.
“I was pretty tired out there today,” Simons, 26, said. “Really tired. And Billy was just telling us to play faster.”
Ivey played 33 minutes in the 123-107 loss, his longest stint in an NBA game in more than two years.
“This was probably the longest minutes I’ve played in a while,” Ivey, 23, said. “Praise god that I was even able to play the whole game.”
Simons made a strong impression on the Bulls this season during two meetings against the Celtics. He dropped eight 3-pointers on the Bulls in their first matchup on Jan. 5 and another five in a rematch on Jan. 24, averaging 24 points in the two games.
“I’m glad I put on a good show,” Simons said with a laugh.
The Bulls’ Anfernee Simons, right, defends the Raptors’ Brandon Ingram during the second half Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Toronto. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Bulls are still determining a role for Simons, who started (and knocked down six 3-pointers) against the Raptors. Simons was a starter during his last four seasons in Portland but moved into the sixth-man role with the Celtics. This was a successful shift for the guard, who still averaged 14.2 points and 2.4 assists in 24.5 minutes per game.
Simons might not fit into the Bulls starting lineup when the team is fully healthy. But with Josh Giddey and Tre Jones still in and out of the lineup, the Bulls will need to lean on him heavily throughout the final stretch of the season.
“I think I found success in both — coming off the bench and starting,” Simons said. “Whatever role I get put in, I feel like I’m going to be successful. To me, it doesn’t matter. As long as we building to win and be a competitive team, that’s all that matters.”
A lifelong Midwesterner, Ivey feels at home moving to Chicago. The son of Notre Dame women’s coach Niele Ivey and former Notre Dame wide receiver Javin Hunter, Ivey was born in South Bend, Ind., and played his college ball for Purdue before the Pistons drafted him in 2022.
Still, the transition to Thursday’s game felt like whiplash. Ivey said he did not expect to be traded until he received the call Wednesday while spending time at home with his three children. He has yet to begin the laborious process of moving his family away from their home in Detroit.
Throughout the last two days, Ivey centered himself in faith and gratitude — two grounding principles for a player whose career was derailed in January 2025 by a gruesome leg injury. Ivey shattered his left fibula in a collision with then-Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, an injury that required nearly a year away from the court and multiple surgeries. That recovery process reshaped Ivey’s perspective on the game.
“It was a long journey in my life,” Ivey said. “During that journey, there was a lot of rehab, a lot of time when I didn’t think I could push through it but somehow I struggled to keep my faith and stay on top of that. I never imagined I’d have two surgeries at this point. I’ve been healthy this year, I’ve played 33 games. I’m grateful.”
Here’s what to know about the rest of the new players.
Guerschon Yabusele
France’s Guerschon Yabusele dunks over Team USA’s LeBron James during a gold-medal game at the Summer Olympics on Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-7
Position: Power forward
Acquisition: Feb. 4 trade with New York Knicks for Dalen Terry
Contract details: In first year of two-year, $11.3 million contract (declined player option for 2026-27)
NBA experience: Fourth season
2025-26 stats: 2.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists
Although he isn’t tall enough to classify as a center, Yabusele — nicknamed “Dancing Bear” or “Le Bear” — is a powerful force on the low block who will help the Bulls frontcourt weather the rest of the season. He declined his player option for the 2026-27 season before the trade from the Knicks, making him a short-term pickup.
Basketball fans might know Yabusele best for posterizing LeBron James with a monster dunk for France in the gold-medal game of the Paris Olympics. His performance in that tournament launched the renaissance of his NBA career — he lasted two seasons with the Boston Celtics after the selected him with the No. 16 pick in the 2016 draft — earning a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers after a five-year hiatus from the league.
Yabusele provided a crucial presence off the bench for the 76ers last season before signing last summer with the Knicks, with whom his role diminished behind a stacked frontcourt. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds Thursday in his Bulls debut.
Rob Dillingham
Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham looks on during the second half against the Nets on Dec. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Bailey Hillesheim/AP)
Age: 21
Height: 6-2
Position: Point guard
Acquisition: Feb. 5 trade with Minnesota Timberwolves for Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips
Contract details: In second year of four-year, $28 million deal (team option in 2027-28)
NBA experience: Second season
2025-26 stats: 3.5 points, 1.7 assists, 1.2 rebounds, 36.4% 3-point percentage
The No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft, Dillingham has been a victim of the pecking order in the Timberwolves backcourt, averaging only 10 minutes in 84 games across two seasons. The lack of playing time leaves a cloud of uncertainty around the point guard, who was considered to be a decent playmaking prospect at Kentucky.
As one of the only non-expiring contracts the Bulls picked up this week, they will have a longer runway to assess whether Dillingham fits into their long-term plans.
Collin Sexton
Hornets guard Collin Sexton reacts against the Spurs on Jan. 31, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Age: 27
Height: 6-3
Position: Guard
Acquisition: Feb. 5 trade with Charlotte Hornets for Coby White and Mike Conley Jr.
Contract details: In final year of four-year, $70.95 million deal
NBA experience: Eighth season
2025-26 stats: 14.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists
Sexton was considered one of the more promising young guards on the market when the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted him at No. 8 in 2018, but he never fit into the team’s development project. The Cavaliers traded Sexton to the Utah Jazz in 2022 as a cornerstone of the trade that brought Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. He spent three seasons with the Jazz until he was traded to the Hornets last summer as part of a deal for Jusuf Nurkić.
This back-and-forth series of trades is reflective of Sexton’s production, which has been consistent yet underwhelming based on the expectations of his early career. At 27, the guard is on the absolute cusp of the age range the Bulls are looking to include in their youth project — but he does fit well with the concept of “experienced young players” that Artūras Karnišovas favors.
Nick Richards
Suns center Nick Richards (2) dunks beside Bulls guard Coby White on Feb. 22, 2025, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Age: 28
Height: 6-11
Position: Center
Acquisition: Feb. 5 three-team trade to send Ousmane Dieng (also acquired this week) to Milwaukee Bucks
Contract details: In final year of three-year, $5 million contract
NBA experience: Sixth season
2025-26 stats: 3.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Richards is a crucial short-term addition alongside Yabusele to help the Bulls close the season with a limited center group. Due to Zach Collins’ injury status, Richards might see a steep increase in playing time in Chicago.
Richards served as a starting center for the Phoenix Suns last season after being sent west on a trade-deadline move from the Hornets. He moved down the depth chart this season following the acquisition of Nurkić but remains a dependable center who can carry starting minutes when the need arises.
Similarly to Sexton, Richards is somewhat outside the preferred age group for the Bulls young core — but he’s an inexpensive frontcourt option who will use the remaining games of the season as an audition, both with the Bulls and elsewhere.
Leonard Miller
Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller looks on before a game against the Nets on Dec. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Bailey Hillesheim/AP)
Age: 22
Height: 6-10
Position: Small forward
Acquisition: Feb. 5 trade with Timberwolves for Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips
Contract details: In third year of four-year, $8.3 million contract (team option in 2026-27)
NBA experience: Third season
2025-26 stats: 2.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists
The Bulls don’t need much from Miller, a deep rotational forward who hardly cracked the rotation with the Timberwolves. At 610, he offers some much-needed size to a frontcourt decimated by trades and injuries. His brother Emanuel played for the Bulls as a two-way player before he was traded in Saturday’s three-way deal with the Sacramento Kings and the Cavaliers.