Bulls seek to escape NBA’s ‘middle’ with active trade deadline
The Chicago Bulls were among the most proactive teams in the NBA leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, completing seven transactions to introduce a fresh combination of young talent and additional draft selections. This series of actions was prompted by vice president Arturas Karnisovas, who stated the team was “not content with being in the middle.”
“Being in the middle is what we aim to avoid,” Karnisovas expressed to the media following Thursday’s deadline. “We’ve experienced that for the last four years, and we seek to alter that.”
In the days preceding the deadline, the Bulls dismantled their roster, trading away leading scorer Coby White, top rebounder Nikola Vucevic, important reserves Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter, along with former draft selections Dalen Terry and Julian Philips.
In return, the Bulls acquired a number of guards — Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, Collin Sexton, and Anfernee Simons — as well as Leonard Miller, Nick Richards, Guerschon Yabusele, and nine second-round picks.
Karnisovas refrained from explicitly labeling the Bulls as rebuilding, instead describing it as “a stage that we’re in,” while outlining the key priorities for Chicago: youth, financial flexibility, and draft assets. He identified the team’s foundational players — Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and Noah Essengue — and expressed his commitment to developing around them moving forward.
“The play-in is not our objective,” Karnisovas stated. “A championship is. We recognize our position in the standings, and we are not content with being in the middle, both as an organization and for our fans. Simultaneously, we are dedicated to building correctly without bypassing essential steps. This process requires time, but we’ve already made [a] significant shift in our approach to roster construction and player development.”
Currently, Chicago occupies the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference, poised to qualify for the play-in tournament for the fourth consecutive year (having lost to Miami in three straight seasons). They have recorded 39 wins in each of the last two seasons and 40 the year prior. Over four successive seasons, the Bulls have maintained an identical record of 18-21 through 39 games, a stagnation that ultimately compelled Karnisovas to take action.
Chicago began its transition from the previous era of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan last summer when they acquired Giddey in exchange for Alex Caruso, but they took more decisive steps to revamp their roster ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
The Bulls did not obtain a first-round pick in any of the seven trades made this week, but Karnisovas indicated he did not regret the timing of their shift towards a more comprehensive rebuild.
“The timing of it, the stage that we are in as a team, we initiated this last year,” he remarked. “Entering this season, numerous decisions had to be made regarding many free agents. This was a prime opportunity for us during the trade deadline to secure substantial draft capital and target specific players to evaluate for the remainder of the season.”
The Bulls’ activity at this year’s deadline marked a change in approach for Karnisovas, who is now in his sixth season as the lead executive for Chicago. The Bulls went three seasons (2022-24) without making any midseason transactions. Karnisovas has frequently been skeptical about the value of draft picks, particularly in the second round. However, on Thursday, he acknowledged that “draft picks are currency.”
“We’ve maintained ongoing flexibility heading into the offseason,” Karnisovas stated. “This provides us with genuine options, whether in free agency, trades, the draft, or continued investment in player development.”
“Flexibility enables us to be patient, yet also decisive when the right opportunity arises. I believe one cannot have too many draft picks regarding future operational capabilities.”
