In-depth analysis of every trade the Chicago Bulls executed during a very busy trade deadline where they acquired seven new players.
The Chicago Bulls made seven trades before the trade deadline on Thursday. In all of the moves made, the Bulls traded away nine players and acquired seven new players. They also acquired eight second-round picks and now have 13 second-round picks in the next seven drafts.
Bulls acquire Dario Saric and two second round picks
Bulls receive: Dario Saric, 2027 second round pick (via Nuggets), 2029 second-round pick (via Kings)
Bulls trade: Emanuel Miller
In a trade where the Bulls were a facilitator between the Kings and Cavaliers, the Bulls acquired Dario Saric and two second-round picks. The Bulls traded away forward Emanuel Miller, who was on a two-way contract. The Bulls acquired Saric’s contract with what was left of the Zach LaVine traded player exception (TPE). The team waived guard Jevon Carter to open up a roster spot for Saric.
The Bulls got two second-round picks for taking on a salary dump. That is a smart decision for the current state of the team. Subsequent trades included both the 2027 second-round pick and Saric.
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Grade: B
Bulls acquire Jaden Ivey for Kevin Huerter
Bulls receive: Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley Jr.
Bulls trade: Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric
The Bulls traded one of their expiring veterans to take a chance on four-year guard Jaden Ivey from the Detroit Pistons. Ivey, 23, had been relegated to the bench for a contending Pistons team this season. His level of play had fallen compared to the previous season. Before suffering a broken fibula that ended his 2024-25 season, Ivey averaged 17.6 points per game (PPG) and shot 40.9% from the field. He was showing why he was a top-five pick in the 2022 NBA draft.
Ivey’s stat line for the Pistons this season is nothing spectacular. He averaged 8.2 points per game in 33 games, the majority of which were off the bench. The injury has taken away some of Ivey’s explosiveness that made him a dynamic scoring guard. However, this is a good risk to take for the Bulls as they bank on Ivey finding his explosiveness again and becoming a dynamic scorer. With Kevin Huerter not part of the team’s future, this is absolutely a worthy risk for the Bulls to take, even though Ivey will be a restricted free agent this offseason.
Grade: B+
Bulls acquire Anfernee Simons and a second round pick for Nikola Vucevic and a second round pick
Bulls receive: Anfernee Simons, 2026 second round pick (most favorable of MIN, NOP, NYK, POR)
Bulls trade: Nikola Vucevic, 2027 second round pick (via Nuggets)
The Nikola Vucevic era came to an end as the Bulls shipped the center to Boston for their sixth-man guard Anfernee Simons. Simons, 26, is a quick trigger scoring guard who has deep range and moments of dynamic shooting. The Bulls were able to use Boston’s need for big-man help and wanting to lower their tax bill as leverage to pull off the deal. Acquiring a projected top-five second-round pick might be the most important part of the trade for the Bulls. If the season ended today, it would be 33rd overall. The pick is the most favorable between the four teams, and one of those teams is the Pelicans.
Trading Vucevic and a worse second-round pick for a better second-round pick and Simons is an overall win for the Bulls. However, keeping Simons on the roster arguably doesn’t make much sense. The Bulls just traded for Ivey, who is younger and possibly looked at as a core piece of the future. While Simons is a good player, he potentially eats into Ivey’s minutes. The Bulls can’t trade Simons now, unless it’s a sign-and-trade this offseason when Simons is an unrestricted free agent (UFA).
Simons might be part of the Bulls’ future, but he could also take away minutes from Ivey when Ivey needs those minutes. Due to potentially taking Ivey’s minutes, being 26 years old already, and the Bulls having a LOT of guards after the trade deadline, it lowers the grade of the trade.
Grade: B-
Bulls trade Coby White for Collin Sexton, Nick Richards, and two second round picks
Bulls receive: Collin Sexton, Nick Richards, 2031 second round pick (via Knicks), 2031 second round pick (via Nuggets)
Bulls trade: Coby White, Mike Conley Jr.
This trade somehow got worse as we got further away from the initial announcement of the deal. The Bulls traded their longest tenured player, Coby White, to the Charlotte Hornets for a couple of second-round picks. White will be an unrestricted free agent, and that tanked his trade market value. Teams don’t want to trade future valuable assets for a player who can just leave in free agency. The Bulls should have traded White at last season’s deadline or even last offseason to get significantly more value. But as per usual from this front office, they held on to an asset for too long and had to settle for scraps when they had to trade him.
Just when you thought the return for White was pretty bad, it somehow got worse. First, the Bulls traded Ousmane Dieng for Nick Richards. Dieng was part of the initial deal for White, but the Bulls re-routed Dieng to the Bucks and got center Nick Richards back in a three-team deal. Richards, 28, has only appeared in 28 games for the Suns this season. He has struggled this season, averaging 3.2 PPG and 3.3 rebounds. Richards has been a rotational player in previous seasons, but the Bulls’ choosing Richards over Dieng doesn’t make any sense for a team that should be prioritizing young talent. Dieng is 22 and hasn’t gotten much playing time with the Thunder, but he has the potential to turn into something when Richards most likely won’t get better at his age.
The second part of this deal getting worse was finding out that the Bulls would only be acquiring two second-round picks in the trade instead of the initial agreement of three. When White had his physical for the Hornets, it showed he had a left calf injury. While he will miss some time and won’t return until after the All-Star break. The Hornets had the right to rescind the trade if they wanted to. They decided to amend the trade instead by taking away a second-round pick. One has to wonder if White injured his left calf during his last game as a Bull, when the Bulls should’ve kept him out to make sure he avoided injury.
It was the correct decision for the Bulls to trade White at this deadline. However, they poorly managed White as an asset and had to settle for scraps. Then they traded Dieng for Richards when they should have been prioritizing young talent. Finally, they had a second-round pick taken away after the trade was agreed upon, most likely due to their terrible injury management or bad decision to let White play on Tuesday. All of these factors lower the grade.
Grade: D
Bulls trade Dalen Terry for Guerschon Yabusele
Bulls receive: Guerschon Yabusele
Bulls trade: Dalen Terry
Initially, this trade looked awful for the Bulls. Guerschon Yabusele is 30 years old and has struggled this season, averaging 2.7 PPG on 39.3% shooting for the New York Knicks. Not only were the Bulls adding an older player to the team, but they were taking Yabusele’s $5.7 million player option for next season. This would’ve eaten into their salary cap space this upcoming offseason, and they got no draft compensation for it. We would later find out that Yabusele amended his contract and took away his player option for next season.
Yabusele removing his player option for next season makes this a more reasonable trade. The issue is he’s now the oldest player on the roster. Dalen Terry wasn’t part of the Bulls’ future, and adding Yabusele adds some needed size to a roster lacking big-man depth. However, should helping the current roster be a priority for the Bulls?
Grade: C-
Bulls trade Ayo Dosunmu for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second round picks
Bulls receive: Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, 2026 second round pick (least favorable of DEN/GSW), 2027 second round pick (via Cavs), 2031 second round pick (more favorable of MIN/GSW), 2032 second round pick (more favorable of PHX/HOU)
Bulls trade: Ayo Dosunmu, Julian Phillips
In what was likely the most heartbreaking trade of the deadline for Bulls fans, the Bulls sent Chicago’s own Ayo Dosunmu to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Bulls acquired second-year guard Rob Dillingham and third-year forward Leonard Miller. Dillingham has struggled to establish himself after being selected eighth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. He averaged 3.5 PPG on 33.3% shooting while getting inconsistent minutes for a contending Timberwolves team. Miller was the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He’s played 49 games through three seasons. While Miller hasn’t played much, he’s listed at 6’10”, which would bring some needed size to the Bulls roster. It’s the opposite for Dillingham, who is listed at 6’2” and 175 pounds. While neither player has found their footing in the NBA, taking a chance on them isn’t a bad thing for the Bulls.
However, if this was the best offer for Dosunmu, who is having a career season, one might argue that it would’ve been better if the Bulls kept Dosunmu. Like White, the Bulls held on to Dosunmu too long if they wanted to trade him, and would’ve gotten significantly more in return if they traded him last season or in the offseason. Dosunmu is an UFA, and just like White that hurt his trade value.
This next part is my speculation, but Dosunmu most likely would’ve been cheaper than White in his new contract. There was the potential that the Bulls and Dosunmu agreed to an extension before the season was over, or that Dosunmu re-signs in free agency. If the Bulls traded Dosunmu after his new contract, it’s fair to believe they would’ve gotten more value than this return. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea just to keep Dosunmu, especially with how much he’s improved this season.
But in the end, the Bulls traded Dosunmu when his value was at its lowest, just like White. Another example of bad asset management by this Bulls front office.
Grade: D+