It’s been a whirlwind trade deadline for the Chicago Bulls. Several players have departed the Windy City, and some acquisitions were rerouted before they could even land. Amid it all, three themes have defined Chicago’s moves: second-round draft capital, future salary-cap flexibility, and, of course, guards!
Bulls have added numerous guards
The Bulls, already a guard-heavy team, have been swapping guards for guards over the past few days. Kevin Huerter was sent out for Jaden Ivey; Nikola Vucevic (though not a guard) was traded for Anfernee Simons; and most recently, Ayo Dosunmu was exchanged for Rob Dillingham. There have been other additions, given Chicago’s flurry of trades, but the focus has clearly been on guards.
But wait… before the guard conundrum continues, the Bulls finally added a big man! And no, we’re not talking about 6-foot-7 Guerschon Yabusele, acquired from the New York Knicks in a trade for Dalen Terry. That would be 6-foot-11 Nick Richards.
Nick Richards fills Chicago's need for a big
Chicago acquired Richards via an expanded three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. Initially, the deal only involved the Bucks and Suns. Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis were sent to Milwaukee, while Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey went to Phoenix.
However, a few hours later, the trade was amended. Dieng, who was first sent to the Charlotte Hornets and then to the Bulls, was finally sent to Milwaukee in exchange for Richards. In other words, both Dieng and Richards were traded, and then re-traded, within hours.
After it’s all said and done, the Bulls added a more established player in Richards, who addresses their need for size, while parting with the younger, less proven Dieng.
Richards had previously carved out a role as a starting center in Charlotte before the size-needy Suns acquired him ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. He went on to start 34 games for Phoenix that season. This year, however, he slid down the depth chart after the Suns added Mark Williams in the offseason and Oso Ighodaro's emergence. As a result, Richards became expendable, averaging just 9.1 minutes per game.
Still, Richards’ per-36-minute numbers this season have been impressive. 12.6 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. He doesn’t offer much offensively beyond the paint, but as an athletic 6-foot-11 big, that’s not what the Bulls were looking for. Chicago needed size, physicality, and rebounding, and they got it.
With the deadline nearly behind them, it looked like the Bulls would finish the season relying on only Jalen Smith and the injured Zach Collins as their long bigs. Now, Chicago has reinforced its interior with Richards. It's a savvy move for the rest of the season that also preserves future financial flexibility, since Richards is an impending free agent.