The Nikola Vucevic Era Officially Ends As Bulls Stay Active At Deadline

As dangerous as it might be to say, Arturas Karnisovas is pulling off a trade deadline masterclass. After grabbing draft stock on Saturday night for helping facilitate a trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings, today, he’s taken it to a new level. Earlier this afternoon, he grabbed 23-year-old Jaden Ivey from the Detroit Pistons for Kevin Huerter, adding a young, athletic guard to pair with Josh Giddey. While the assumption was that Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu would be next on the outgoing list, Karnisovas just swapped a 35-year-old expiring contract for a 26-year-old guard playing some of the best basketball of his career. For a fanbase that was desperate for change in any fashion, the Bulls are giving them just that.

Adding More Young Talent

Adding Simons comes with good news and bad. While adding a young, athletic, proven elite scoring guard seems like a win for the Bulls, it also comes with a caveat. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, who is already earning north of $27 million this season. Based on his career statistics and scoring prowess, he’ll be due roughly the same contract as Coby White, who Chicago is destined to move in the next 48 hours. Essentially, Karnisovas has chosen to invest in the former Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics guard over White as the future sixth man or running mate to Josh Giddey.

BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are trading center Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/aScaobfZmv

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2026

So far, the Bulls have added two young, athletic guards on expiring deals. AK has opted to take the gamble that they will resign long-term, and if they don’t, he’s in the same position as if he’d done nothing at the trade deadline with free cap space and flexibility in free agency.

Needing Rim Protection

Much like the first trade today heavily indicated that White or Dosunmu would be the next to go, this deal almost guarantees the Bulls are not done yet. Not only will they still need to dump backcourt assets, as they’re even more overloaded there, but they’re also lacking big man depth. Jalen Smith and Zach Collins have battled injuries all season long, and without Vucevic, they lack a true center. As hinted in previous weeks, rim protection was a main objective of the front office, and now it’s becoming a reality.

Bulls can't be done dealing. They have an extreme excess of guards. Giddey, Coby White, Simons, Ivey, Conley, Tre Jones, Dosunmu all on the team with only enough minutes for about 3.5 of them.

— Ryan Ayscue (@RyanAyscue1) February 3, 2026

Two certainties that have become clear are that Karnisovas will trade away at least one guard, if not more, and that the team will add a center with solid rim protection.

Does all of this runway lead to a bigger splash for a star, or will they be adding a low-grade big man and ending the most deadline chaos the franchise has seen in several seasons?