As underwhelming as the Chicago Bulls trade return for Coby White turned out to be, it wasn’t all that hard to rationalize.
The 25-year-old guard was playing on an expiring contract amid an injury-riddled season. Had the Bulls chosen to move him during his breakout 2024-25 campaign, a first-round pick would have come the organization’s way with ease. However, by waiting to move him until he was months out from a hefty pay raise, the package of three second-round picks, salary filler, and a flyer on a young former lottery pick made sense.
Then, in only a matter of hours, it made less sense. The Bulls promptly took Ousmane Dieng and moved him to the Milwaukee Bucks in a multi-team transaction. In return, they added some admittedly needed size in the frontcourt with veteran center Nick Richards. Still, moving off the 22-year-old Dieng was a head-scratcher considering many of the front office’s previous moves. Why not keep and evaluate the younger wing for the remainder of the season?
We can all agree that Dieng has shown very little at the NBA level during his three years with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But the expectations for the franchise also changed drastically after he was selected with the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Playing time was going to be hard to come by for the raw and oversized wing. The Bulls could help fix that.
Heck, they already found success taking one former lottery pick off OKC’s hands. Despite the optics at the time, swapping Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey has aged decently well. The guard has played strongly enough to be considered a core piece moving forward, even posting All-Star-caliber numbers during the early portion of this season.
None of this is to say Dieng is destined for the same fate, but he felt like another obvious piece for the Bulls to take under their wing for the time being. And that’s why his first real dose of minutes with the Bucks on Thursday night was hard to ignore.
Ousmane Dieng Impresses for Milwaukee Bucks
Feb 6, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ousmane Dieng (21) warms up during halftime against the Indiana Pacers at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
After clocking just 5 minutes for Milwaukee in his debut with the franchise, Ousmane Dieng saw 23 minutes in the team’s surprising win over the Orlando Magic.
During his performance off the bench, the wing went 6-10 from the field for 17 points and 3 rebounds. This included knocking down a career-high six threes, as well as finishing the night with a +6 overall. Always touted for his ability to stretch the floor at six-foot-nine, the shooting display was undoubtedly an encouraging sign for the Bucks. But what arguably stood out more was just how well Dieng was moving along the perimeter, especially on both ends.
Ousmane Dieng lit it up from long range.
17 PTS | 5 3PM | 63% 3FG pic.twitter.com/2DWjD3MbyG
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 12, 2026
Head coach Doc Rivers was quick to give him some praise following the 116-108 win.
“Knows how to play, that’s the first thing we noticed,” Rivers said. “He can really put the ball on the floor. He can make plays. Natural 3. Now we finally got a big 3 on our hands. Really trying defensively, you can see that, as well. We need him to play with confidence. We kept telling him shoot the ball … Listen, the kid has been in the league. He has been waiting for his turn, and now he’s getting at it.”
Known to lean heavily on his veteran talent over the years, those are some meaningful words from a head coach who has seen a lot. Indeed, it sure sounds like Dieng is now bound for even more playing time as the Bucks potentially try to make one last push for a Play-In Tournament spot.
One game is one game. Dieng still has a long road ahead of him before he carves out a consistent NBA role. Plus, the Bulls could always try to make a run at him once free agency hits in a matter of months. He’s still likely to sign a very low-cost contract.
At the same time, the decision to re-route Dieng to the Bucks felt counterintuitive from the jump. While the team may have needed more legitimate size in the frontcourt, balancing out the roster in the short-term likely shouldn’t have taken precedence over potential development. It’s also hard not to think that a different deal could have been found to add that bigger body. Instead, the Bulls opted to add the more undersized Gueschon Yabusele.
At the end of the day, we can’t officially jump to conclusions. Only time will tell if this move is something Arturas Karnisovas genuinely comes to regret. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine this front office didn’t take notice of Dieng knocking down his career-high in a different uniform. I sure know I did!