{"id":588309,"date":"2026-02-07T13:03:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T13:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/588309\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T13:03:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T13:03:25","slug":"grading-the-chicago-bulls-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/588309\/","title":{"rendered":"Grading the Chicago Bulls’ moves"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 Before reading this article, please take a moment to check your notifications. There\u2019s a chance that you, too, have been traded by the Chicago Bulls<\/a> for a second-round draft pick and cash considerations.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s trade deadline was the busiest for the Bulls in years. Eight players gone, seven trades executed, all in the course of six hectic days. In the aftermath, executive vice president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas seemed committed<\/a> to a route of getting worse in the short term to improve in the long term.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an optimistic plan. It\u2019s also full of risks and follies to nitpick and assess. And while Bulls fans should feel bolstered that the front office has finally \u2014 finally \u2014 taken a new approach to roster construction, the execution of the next rebuild stage leaves little margin for error.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s look at a couple of big-picture questions.<\/p>\n

Why is this happening now?<\/p>\n

The Bulls had their backs against a wall. With eight expiring contracts on their books, they were bound to see this volume of turnover \u2014 either under their control at the deadline or at the whims of players over the summer. That turned the deadline into a fire sale as the Bulls succeeded in moving every expiring contract except that of Zach Collins, who was essentially off the market because of lingering injuries.<\/p>\n

The contract situation forced the Bulls into a full teardown, something Karni\u0161ovas ardently avoided in prior seasons. He openly acknowledged that his hand was forced, which only underlines the frustration surrounding his previous hesitance to attack the market and commit to a rebuild.<\/p>\n

This entire painful process clearly should have begun at last year\u2019s deadline. The Bulls could have received significantly higher returns for Coby White<\/a> and Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107<\/a> when both players were healthy and averaging career highs in scoring (White) and shooting percentage (Vu\u010devi\u0107).<\/p>\n

Offloading high-scoring players at last year\u2019s deadline would have set up the Bulls for better draft position in 2025 (a star-studded draft featuring league-ready players such as Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel) while setting the table to fully tank<\/a> for a top lottery pick in 2026.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Bulls are \u2014 once again \u2014 stuck in the middle. Because they didn\u2019t begin their tanking efforts until this year\u2019s deadline, they already had won 24 games before offloading half their roster. The teams competing for top-four lottery odds have won 14 games or fewer, a chasm the Bulls won\u2019t be able to close over the final 30 games.<\/p>\n

The Bulls still can improve their lottery odds significantly through the tactics employed at the deadline. Their odds of landing a top-four pick are already up to 6.2% from 2.4% last week. With more losses, they might be able to get those odds above 30% \u2014 a valuable improvement but well below the possibilities if they had committed to this gambit a year earlier.<\/p>\n

In the long term, Bulls fans will have to wait and see if Karni\u0161ovas can make bold moves again in the future before he is forced into a corner.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s with all these second-rounders?<\/p>\n

The Bulls weren\u2019t high on the value of second-round picks heading into this trade window. Second-round picks always have been relative gambles<\/a> and have only lost value in recent years as fewer players declare for each draft. Yet despite that messaging, the Bulls ended up with nine new second-round picks by the deadline, bringing their total to 14, tied with the Detroit Pistons for the third-most in the league.<\/p>\n

More draft capital is always a net positive \u2014 and sometimes luck comes into play. Karni\u0161ovas famously struck the greatest second-round gold mine in draft history in 2014, when he selected Nikola Joki\u0107 for the Denver Nuggets with the 41st pick. Although not the same wattage of star power, Karni\u0161ovas also hit on a second-round pick with the Bulls by selecting Ayo Dosunmu at No. 38 in 2021.<\/p>\n

But if Karni\u0161ovas plans to use these picks as future trade assets, things could get complicated. There isn\u2019t a set conversion rate between the first and second rounds. Consolidating picks has become more difficult, and an executive can\u2019t confidently expect to flip a handful of second-rounders into a first-rounder, even if it\u2019s outside the lottery. This tactic leaves plenty of legwork for Karni\u0161ovas in the future.<\/p>\n

With those questions (somewhat) answered, let\u2019s get into the nitty-gritty of each trade.<\/p>\n

Trade: Emanuel Miller to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Dario \u0160ari\u0107 (from the Sacramento Kings) and two second-round picks
\n\"BullsBulls forward Emanuel Miller (2) is late to retrieve a pass against the Pacers on Dec. 5, 2025, at the United Center. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Grade: A<\/p>\n

Sometimes the best business is boring. Sending out a two-way player and taking back an expiring contract (that was traded by the end of the week) is a tidy way to pick up a couple of second-round picks. Even if these picks aren\u2019t the most valuable, this was a neat win for the Bulls to kick off a busy week.<\/p>\n

Trade: Kevin Huerter and Dario \u0160ari\u0107 to the Detroit Pistons for Jaden Ivey (from Detroit) and Mike Conley Jr. (from the Minnesota Timberwolves)
\n\"TheThe Bulls’ Kevin Huerter celebrates after his game-winning 3-pointer sealed a 114-111 victory over the Celtics on Jan. 24, 2026, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/p>\n

The Bulls were cooking at this point in the week. This trade sent out an expiring deal in Huerter, who wasn\u2019t young enough or consistent enough from 3-point range to fit into the team\u2019s future. In return, the Bulls get to take a flyer on Ivey, a former No. 5 pick who will be a restricted free agent this summer.<\/p>\n

Who are the 7 new Chicago Bulls? Meet Jaden Ivey, Anfernee Simons and the rest of the deadline additions.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ivey isn\u2019t a sure thing. He still hasn\u2019t returned to his former self after suffering a brutal broken lower leg on New Year\u2019s Day last year \u2014 but he\u2019s also barely 13 months removed from that injury, which required multiple surgeries and extensive recovery. If Ivey can rebuild his athleticism and regain his first step, he could fit seamlessly into the Bulls rotation.<\/p>\n

Trade: Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick swap
\n\"BullsBulls center Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 smiles after shooting an air ball against the Jazz on Jan. 14, 2026, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/p>\n

This one came as a surprise \u2014 even to Vu\u010devi\u0107 himself. After the Bulls failed to trade him at prior deadlines, it seemed the market had dried up for the veteran center despite his willingness to take a role off the bench if it meant playing for a contender. But this deal checked boxes for every side of the trade.<\/p>\n

This was a perfect tanking move for the Bulls. Vu\u010devi\u0107 was vital to the Bulls offense, supplying 16.9 points per game while facilitating action through the post and anchoring on the other end as a defensive rebounder. He was set to walk in free agency, but moving him this week allowed the Bulls to move up to near the top of the second round this year, as the pick they got in the swap initially belonged to the New Orleans Pelicans (13-40).<\/p>\n

Sure, this is one of the most obvious \u201ctoo little, too late\u201d trades for the Bulls, who should have moved Vu\u010devi\u0107 when his value spiked just before last year\u2019s deadline. But they did the best with what they had in this particular window, which still can be celebrated in a vacuum.<\/p>\n

An added bonus: Vu\u010devi\u0107 lands in the position he envisioned for the final years of his career.<\/p>\n

Trade: Coby White and Mike Conley Jr. to the Charlotte Hornets for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three second-round picks
\n\"BullsBulls guard Coby White walks away after greeting Pacers center Tony Bradley following a 120-105 Pacers win Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, at the United Center. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Grade: B-<\/p>\n

This had to happen. The Bulls couldn\u2019t afford to pay White in free agency. They also couldn\u2019t afford to let him walk for nothing.<\/p>\n

Aspects of this trade work well, particularly the decision to send White to his home-state Hornets, who are challenging the Bulls for the last spot in the play-in tournament. Sending out your No. 2 scorer to a direct competitor is a simple but savvy tanking move for a team that has struggled to divest itself from the ghost of competitiveness.<\/p>\n

With Coby White\u2019s trade, the Chicago Bulls cut ties to the past \u2014 and give up the heart of their locker room<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s hard not to mourn the steep loss of value suffered by waiting an additional year to trade White, who was sidelined by calf injuries for nearly half of this season. He was just regaining his shooting confidence and overall fitness in the last 10 days, but his shaky start to the season was enough to drop his value after a 2024-25 season filled with career highs.<\/p>\n

Adding draft capital has its own value, and Sexton potentially could fit into the Bulls future as an \u201cexperienced\u201d younger player. But the fact the Bulls couldn\u2019t achieve their goal of securing a first-round pick for White makes this a misstep.<\/p>\n

Trade: Dalen Terry to the New York Knicks for Guerschon Yabusele and cash considerations
\n\"TheThe Bulls’ Dalen Terry, left, and Isaac Okoro during warmups before a game against the 76ers on Dec. 26, 2025, at the United Center. (Dominic Di Palermo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/p>\n

At first, this trade was baffling. Yabusele is an undersized, slow-footed, 30-year-old big man who doesn\u2019t fit any future plans for the Bulls and had a player option for 2026-27 on his two-year, $11.275 million contract. Terry never fit into the Bulls rotation, but he\u2019s still a young player with athletic potential (and wasn\u2019t contributing enough to derail a tank job).<\/p>\n

However, a league source said \u2014 and Yabusele later confirmed \u2014 that the forward declined his player option as a stipulation of this deal. That means the Bulls essentially just took on a bit of bad money to offload Terry.<\/p>\n

This trade is ultimately nothing in the overall scope, but it offers a moment to reflect on how poorly Karni\u0161ovas has drafted in the first round. Terry was the No. 18 pick in 2022. Not even four years later, the Bulls salary-dumped him in an effort to tank. If they want to pull off their plan of building around young players, they have to identify talent more consistently \u2014 or risk a repetition of this draft-and-dump cycle.<\/p>\n

Trade: Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks
\n\"BullsBulls guard Ayo Dosunmu loses the ball while driving against Hornets forward Brandon Miller on Jan. 3, 2026, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Grade: C-<\/p>\n

As beloved as Dosunmu is in Chicago<\/a>, the Bulls needed to move the guard before his salary ballooned in free agency this summer. Making that tough decision should have come with a major payday for both sides \u2014 Dosunmu\u2019s value never has been higher as a true two-way player who\u2019s one of the league\u2019s top 10 3-point shooters this season. So why did the Bulls let him go for so little?<\/p>\n

This trade wasn\u2019t about the players the Bulls received. Dillingham, the No. 8 pick in 2024, is a slight point guard who struggled to crack the rotation in Minnesota. He is five years younger than Dosunmu \u2014 which does align him more closely with the Matas Buzelis timeline \u2014 but has shown no signs of developing into the same caliber of playmaker and defender. Miller is a nonfactor who might not see much playing time even with the current skeleton crew.<\/p>\n

All of that would be perfectly acceptable if the Bulls had picked up a first-round pick for their troubles. Instead, they collected another handful of second-rounders: the least favorable of Denver\u2019s and Golden State\u2019s in 2026, Cleveland\u2019s in 2027, the more favorable of Minnesota\u2019s and Golden State\u2019s in 2031 and the more favorable of Phoenix\u2019s and Houston\u2019s in 2032.<\/p>\n

This is an undersell, plain and simple, for one of the team\u2019s best pieces of player development in the last decade. And given Dosunmu\u2019s emotional ties to the city and team, it\u2019s a squandered opportunity that will sting in Chicago for a while.<\/p>\n

Trade: Ousmane Dieng to the Milwaukee Bucks for Nick Richards (from the Phoenix Suns)
\n\"Suns<\/p>\n

Suns center Nick Richards dunks beside Bulls guard Coby White in the second half at the United Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Timberwolves<\/p>\n

Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham looks on during the first half against the Nets on Dec. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Bailey Hillesheim)<\/p>\n

\"Pistons'<\/p>\n

Pistons’ Jaden Ivey shoots over the Nuggets’ Jamal Murray in the first half at Ball Arena on Jan. 27, 2026, in Denver. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Timberwolves<\/p>\n

Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller looks on before a game against the Nets on Dec. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Bailey Hillesheim\/AP)<\/p>\n

\"Hornets'<\/p>\n

Hornets’ Collin Sexton reacts in the second half against the Spurs at Spectrum Center on Jan. 31, 2026, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Celtics'<\/p>\n

Celtics’ Anfernee Simons shoots past the Bulls’ Kevin Huerter during the first half at the United Center on Jan. 24, 2026(Photo by Geoff Stellfox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Knicks'<\/p>\n

Knicks’ Guerschon Yabusele during the first half against the Suns onJan. 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 7<\/p>\n

Suns center Nick Richards dunks beside Bulls guard Coby White in the second half at the United Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to assess this one since neither player ever made it to market. Richards is certainly a better short-term option for the Bulls frontcourt, which had been gutted at this point in the trade window. But the Bulls shouldn\u2019t really care about which player will make the biggest impact in the next 30 games. Dieng had interesting potential as another young player who might have fit into the team\u2019s timeline. Ultimately, this was a negligible move made at the end of a trade frenzy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 Before reading this article, please take a moment to check your notifications. There\u2019s a chance that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[71596,7,47579,329,963,15697,7505,307,152,3954,6,2828,3853,308,79057],"class_list":["post-588309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-ayo-dosumnu","tag-basketball","tag-bulls-roster","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-coby-white","tag-dalen-terry","tag-julian-phillips","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-minnesotatimberwolves","tag-nba","tag-nba-trade-deadline","tag-nikola-vucevic","tag-timberwolves","tag-who-is-on-the-bulls"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116029490707078482","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}