The Chicago Bulls have officially hit the reset button.
In a flurry of pre-deadline activity that’s uncharacteristic for a franchise often hesitant to fully commit to change, the Bulls made yet another move on Wednesday-this time sending longtime guard Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets. In return, Chicago receives Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, and three second-round picks. It’s a deal that signals a full-scale rebuild is no longer just an idea floating around the front office-it’s happening.
This move caps off a busy week for Chicago. Earlier, the Bulls shipped Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Anfernee Simons and a swap of second-round picks.
They also dealt Dario Saric and Kevin Huerter to the Detroit Pistons, bringing back Jaden Ivey and veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr. That’s three trades in quick succession, each one peeling back another layer of a roster that’s lingered in NBA purgatory for too long.
The headline here isn’t just about who’s coming in or going out-it’s about what this signals. For years, the Bulls have tried to walk the line between competing and rebuilding.
Now, they’ve chosen a direction. And while it’s not without short-term pain, especially for fans who’ve watched Coby White grow into a key contributor, it’s the kind of decisive pivot that’s been long overdue.
Let’s talk about the return. Collin Sexton is a high-octane scorer who brings energy and aggression to the backcourt.
He’s not a traditional playmaker, and his fit in a suddenly crowded guard rotation is uncertain, but his presence could be temporary-or part of a larger plan still unfolding. Ousmane Dieng is a long, raw wing with upside who fits the timeline of a team looking to develop young talent.
And the three second-round picks add to a growing stockpile of draft assets that could be used to either build through the draft or swing a bigger trade down the line.
That brings us to the new-look Bulls backcourt, which now features Ayo Dosunmu (at least for now), Sexton, Simons, Ivey, Tre Jones, Josh Giddey, and Yuki Kawamura. That’s a lot of guards.
But there’s some versatility in there, too. Giddey, in particular, gives them a connector-someone who can rebound, distribute, and play multiple positions.
It’s going to take time and a lot of lineup experimentation to figure out what combinations work, but the pieces are interesting.
The Bulls’ front office deserves credit here. They didn’t just tear things down-they brought in young, controllable talent and added to their draft capital.
It’s not easy to rebuild on the fly, but this is a start. They’ve cleared out long-term contracts and opened up the kind of flexibility that could pay off in future trades or free agency.
On the other side of the deal, Charlotte adds a player who could fit seamlessly into their young core. Coby White joins a Hornets team that’s been trending upward, and pairing him with LaMelo Ball and rookie Kon Knueppel gives them a dynamic trio to build around. White has shown real growth as a scorer and playmaker, and the Hornets are expected to lock him up with a new deal that reflects his rising value.
For Bulls fans, this one stings. White was more than just a player-he was a homegrown talent who stuck with the team through some tough years. But the NBA is a business, and sometimes progress means letting go of the familiar to chase something greater.
The Bulls finally look like a team with a plan. And for a fanbase that’s been stuck in limbo, that’s something worth getting behind.