The Chicago Bulls acquired four guards via trade at this season’s deadline: Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton. Despite being arguably the most unheralded of that quartet, it’s Sexton making the best case to stay in the Windy City long term.
Ivey was the No. 5 pick in the 2022 draft and was in the middle of a standout campaign last year before he broke his fibula. The 24-year-old was worth taking a gamble on in the hope that his athleticism and explosion return, but so far that hasn't happened.
Dillingham was the eighth overall pick just two years ago. His ability to break down defenders off the dribble is unmatched on the Bulls’ roster. Simons is a talented scorer who's averaged 19.2 points and 4.2 assists over his last three-plus seasons while shooting 37.6 percent from 3-point range on 8.3 attempts per game.
Sexton was the afterthought. He's a 27-year-old rotation player who's on his third team in two seasons. As an unrestricted free agent, the common presumption was that he would play out the rest of this season before hitting the open market and moving on.
Not so fast.
Collin Sexton has been an overlooked acquisition for Bulls
To be fair, Sexton was the No. 8 pick in the 2018 draft and owns career averages of 18.3 points and 3.7 assists. His "resurgence” in Chicago shouldn’t be a massive surprise, given his increase in minutes and role.
But while Ivey and Simons have been hurt and Dillingham has struggled, the former Alabama star is showing out.
Since arriving on Feb. 5, Sexton is the Bulls' second-leading scorer at 16.2 points per game. He's fourth in minutes played (301), second in field-goal attempts (139) and third in 3-point attempts (67) while connecting on 38.8 percent of them.
He's third on the team in free-throw attempts and is shooting 81.1 percent from the line. He leads Chicago in steals with 16 (1.3 per game).
Sexton scored 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from three in a March 8 loss to the Sacramento Kings, which came on the heels of a 30-point, five-assist, two-steal performance in a win over the Phoenix Suns.
Over his last four games, the former Cavaliers, Jazz and Hornets guard is averaging 25.0 points, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting almost 60 percent from the field and 47 percent from deep on an average of 8.0 attempts.
The Bulls' trade deadline decisions continue to disappoint
Simons hasn't played since Feb. 21 as he deals with a wrist injury. Across his six games in Chicago, he's shooting an uncharacteristically low 32.0 percent from three.
Ivey has only appeared in four games, and there's growing concern he won't play at all until next season.
Dillingham hasn't earned head coach Billy Donovan's trust and continues to mostly toil away on the bench despite the Bulls' status as a franchise playing for lottery positioning.
Sexton has been one of the few bright spots over the last month. If he keeps stringing together games like this, he'll force Chicago to think twice about letting him walk this summer.