Column: Chicago Bulls' Baffling Trades Lead Nowhere But Down

One week removed from the trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls look unrecognizable compared to earlier this season — or any previous season, for that matter.

The new-look Bulls are 0-4 since the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5. You can partially attribute that to limited practice time hampering chemistry building, as seven new players arrived with little time to find their identity within a new system. But the loss runs deeper than growing pains. This roster construction makes no coherent sense.

Chicago currently has no player taller than 6-foot-9. Earlier in the season, the Bulls struggled with interior defense, even with Nikola Vucevic anchoring the paint. Billy Donovan finally abandoned his stubborn small-ball philosophy earlier this season, experimenting with double-big lineups featuring Vucevic and Jalen Smith. They found modest success playing bigger.

But that wasn't enough to change the narrative long-term or transform them into legitimate playoff contenders. So what did Arturas Karnisovas do? He traded away both their reliable Montenegro big and replaced him with... nobody of comparable impact.

Building around a young core makes sense in theory. Matas Buzelis is growing slowly but taking normal strides in his sophomore season. Ayo Dosunmu also broke out with his refined shooting, while Tre Jones provided a spark. Coby White battled through injury but still contributed. Josh Giddey delivered a statement season and was in the process of proving himself as a team leader after years in the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Based on the format, the logic tells that the Bulls need another Giddey-caliber star or more supportive pieces, combined with continued young-core development, to become playoff contenders. That's what conventional wisdom suggested, and it made sense. Before doubting whether it would work, you at least need to try, and sacrificing on some of the young products would become inevitable in that pursuit.

But Karnisovas reshuffled the entire roster. After the deadline, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, who had spent over four seasons in Chicago, were replaced by Colin Sexton and Anfernee Simons in the backcourt, with Rob Dillingham and Jaden Ivey as backups. Then the Bulls re-signed Mac McClung to a two-way deal after offering the same deal to Yuki Kawamura in January.

Those pieces look solid individually. But there's no convincing argument that any of them significantly impacts winning more than the players they replaced. This isn't a rebuild — it's filling the blanks with equivalent replacements.

Actually, calling them "equivalent" feels generous given the team's 0-4 record.

These are lazy moves by the front office. Karnisovas explicitly said during a Zoom press conference after the deadline that the team is steering away from the term "rebuild" despite making moves. Simply put, you won't see a complete tank from Chicago and a desperation to change.

Going heavy on backcourt additions, the Bulls seemed too casual in reinforcing their frontcourt. They signed Guerschon Yabusele and Nick Richards, but their lower efficiency and lack of comprehensive skill sets compared to Vucevic and Smith have done nothing to staunch the bleeding.

Probably the most frustrating part amid the deadline flurry lies in Ousmane Dieng. Chicago initially acquired him in a trade before immediately flipping him to Milwaukee via a three-team trade. In his first two games with the Bucks, Dieng exploded with near-career-high production — 18.0 points per game, hitting eight of 14 three-pointers and posting a combined +22 plus-minus. That's the kind of versatile, athletic frontcourt piece the Bulls desperately need. And they gave him away.

The "Bulls curse" has become a recurring conversation topic when discussing the front office's ineptitude and incompetence. Remember how impressively Derik Queen has shone with New Orleans so far this season after the Bulls passed on him in the 2025 NBA Draft? Now we're watching Vucevic fit perfectly into the Boston Celtics' championship puzzle — the veteran leadership they needed — while gearing up for a title hope at 35.

We're seeing that Ayo Dosunmu remained productive in Minnesota as the Timberwolves, another playoff contender in the West, rely on his excellent off-the-bench production, with Chris Finch even appreciating the hustle from Julian Phillips, who barely saw meaningful minutes in Chicago.

The pattern is undeniable: Bulls players leave and immediately thrive elsewhere.

While Buzelis' growth continues, he's clearly processing the emotional transition from farewelling former teammates to embracing newcomers. The Bull’s pride that just shone at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles is dealing with that mental stretch. It's a necessary process every NBA player experiences, but it might matter significantly for the Bulls, who are building everything around Buzelis and nurturing him toward franchise-star status — a work in progress.

The deadline moves currently bring nothing tangible, serving as a grand slap in the face of the Bulls' front office and even accounting for injury issues as an excuse for losing.

With six guards in the rotation (excluding two-ways), has Donovan's small-ball become the long-term plan? Playing faster could benefit Chicago by leveraging pace advantages, but can this new-look roster execute plays while playing up-tempo? Can they generate quality shots and dismantle opponents' defenses through ball movement? Does size really have to vanish?

While still figuring out chemistry before Giddey, Jones and Zach Collins return from injury, triggering a further chemistry-building process, it's not hyperbolic to suggest this season might effectively be over unless they replicate last year's late-season streak — a Mickey Mouse run.

As losses pile up and Chicago drifts further from Play-In contention, the Bulls face a critical decision: finally commit to tanking for better draft picks next year, or somehow gear up for a Play-In push with two months remaining.