On Feb. 5, 2026 the NBA trade deadline passed, and we witnessed many surprising last minute trades like Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards and James Harden to the Cavaliers, but some of the most surprising were the Chicago Bulls. These trades upset longtime fans of the Bulls and created some uncertainty for the future of the team.
One of the trades made by the Bulls was Kevin Huerter, a shooting guard who played on the Bulls for two seasons, was traded to the Detroit Pistons for Jaden Ivey and Mike Conely Jr. Nikola Vucevic, a center, was traded to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simon and a second round draft pick. The two biggest trades from the Bulls were Ayo Dosunmo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller, and franchise player Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets for Colin Sexton and Ousmane Dieng. They also acquired 14 second round draft picks during these trades.
Players like Coby White and Dosunmo played a big role for the Bulls. White did suffer from a calf injury earlier in the season and averaged 18.7 points per game. He made a huge impact on the Bulls with his ability to play defense and his strong shooting skills. Ayo Dosunmo, a shooting guard, averaged 15 points per game. He stepped up later in the season with his three pointers and was one of the top three point shooters for the Bulls, with a 60.6% effective field goal percentage during the 2025-2026 season.
These two players meant a lot to the team, White playing for seven seasons and Dosunmo playing for four.
“I figured I was on the chopping block,” said White, “ The team had to kind of go in a direction, a certain direction. So I really wasn’t surprised or anything like that.”
While some trades were unsurprising to most, the players that were acquired were surprising to say the least Four guards were acquired in the trade which confused most fans. This was because of the amount of guards that will be starting on the court. It causes the back court to fill up and is a sign of poor roster management from Chicago.
The reasons for these trades are for the Bulls to have a chance to make the playoffs and start fresh with a younger generation of players. Many of the players sold were getting older and the Bulls wanted young players to lead the team. The teams record after the trades have been 0-2. For a more accurate analysis of the new team, we will have to wait and see what they do later in the season and if these trades were beneficial to the team.
