The Chicago Bulls disastrously traded Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round draft picks at the deadline, and things just keep getting worse. The Bulls sold the 56th pick for cash just days after the Timberwolves signed Dosunmu to a five-year extension worth $112 million.
He is unquestionably a building block in Minnesota after the Wolves' salary dump of Julius Randle made room for his new deal. The 6’4 guard had a 43-point game in the playoffs and kept showing Chicago how badly they botched this situation. The extension made the trade worse, and it went another step down after Chicago took cash over a prospect.
The Bulls sold this pick to the Lakers, who flipped it to the Mavericks. Dallas took Vsevolod Ishchenko. Cash isn’t going to help the Bulls as they try to rebuild.
Ayo Dosunmu trade just keeps getting worse for the Bulls
Credit to the Bulls for officially embarking on a rebuild. They traded Coby White, Nikola Vucevic, and Dosunmu before February's deadline, but were only able to pick up second-round draft picks. Arturas Karnisovas never sold at the right time, and it is a major reason why he’s no longer with the organization.
Here are the full details of the Ayo Dosunmu trade from February.
Bulls received: Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, Vsevolod Ishchenko, 2027 2nd round pick (via Cavs), 2031 2nd rounder, 2032 2nd round pick
Timberwolves acquired: Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips
Dillingham struggled mightily with the Bulls and doesn’t look like an NBA player. He produced a negative win shares per 48 minutes and value over replacement player (VORP) last season. Chicago has him under contract for $6.8 million next season, but it may be time to move on.
Miller showed flashes in his 27 games with the Bulls. They have a team option for next season at $2.4 million that will likely be picked up.
The Bulls didn't even get the first of four second-rounders from this deal, and they shouldn't expect much from the other selections. It is difficult to hit that late and is even harder in the NIL era. Prospects make millions playing NCAA basketball. They only want to come to the NBA if a guaranteed contract awaits them.
Dosunmu going from reserve on the Bulls to key piece of the Timberwolves is nothing new. Karnisovas misjudged the value of his talent multiple times, including disastrously with Lauri Markkanen, Alex Caruso, and others. Add Dosunmu to that list. The 6’4 guard is now locked in with the Timberwolves as the Bulls are betting on Caleb Wilson to become a superstar.
The Chicago Bulls disastrously traded Ayo Dosunmu at the deadline, and the deal just keeps getting worse. The Bulls didn’t want to pay the 6’4 guard, but four late second-round picks are virtually zero return. Dosunmu made an immediate impact in the playoffs and is now earning over $22 million each year. Chicago should have gotten a better return or just kept the talented guard. Chalk it up as another Karnisovas disaster class.
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