Arturas Karnisovas Just Presented His Answer To Chicago’s Biggest Void

Even though Nikola Vucevic was only traded 48 hours ago, it’s felt like an eternity without a true center on the roster. Over the last several days, every deal Chicago has completed has added guards or forwards to the mix, and the feeling was that a center had to be the final chess move. At the buzzer, with less than 20 minutes to go before the trade cutoff, Arturas Karnisovas has found the solution. This trade was previously only between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, but as Shams Charania first reported a few minutes ago, the Bulls are now joining in the transaction. They’ll send off Ousmane Dieng, who they recently acquired from the Charlotte Hornets in the Coby White trade, to Milwaukee and add a 28-year-old center on an expiring contract in his place. This is the full trade, and how it benefits the Bulls’ rebuilding plan.

Adding Nick Richards To Finalize Roster

This move feels like it was partially made out of desperation. After six trades this week, Chicago didn’t have a center on the roster and still possesses six guards for four rotational spots. As reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, among other sources, the initial target for a big man was Yves Missi, which would’ve been a dream scenario compared to the result. Instead of a 28-year-old subpar player on an expiring deal, the Bulls could’ve been aggressive in pursuing the 21-year-old rim protector, which would’ve given them a potential stronghold at the position and given the youngster a chance to develop with a young core. The addition of Richards is likely solely to fill the void for the remainder of the season, when he’ll walk in free agency, and Karnisovas will have to look elsewhere for a big man moving forward.

The Bucks and Suns have expanded this to a three-team deal to include the Chicago Bulls: Ousmane Dieng to Milwaukee and Nick Richards to Chicago, sources said. https://t.co/aD5AgbZ9Df

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2026

Richards was a solid rotational piece for the Charlotte Hornets for several seasons and in his first year with Phoenix. He was surpassed on the depth chart by Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro, leading to minimal action this year and a severe drop-off in minutes and production from his previous output. He’ll look to prove something in these last few months before hitting the open market in free agency.

Trade Deadline Overview

There are plenty of opinions to be had after seven trades in five days. However, given that Chicago was not going to pay several of its expiring players to return to mediocrity, this was not a terrible overall outcome. Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry, Jevon Carter, and Kevin Huerter were likely not going to be extended, especially with most of them requiring a salary increase on their next contract, so Karnisovas’s objective was to collect any assets or buy-low prospects with the chance to invest in young talent. Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, and Leonard Miller are likely going to be bidding for future spots with the franchise, while the others won’t be with the team beyond the last portion of this season. At a bare minimum, the Bulls added nine second-round picks and a few young, unproven talents to showcase their development with increased opportunities.

A lot of Chicago Bulls fans are overexaggerating the situation that we're in.

The following statements are objectively true:

– The Bulls are one of the youngest teams in the NBA
– The Bulls have one of the best draft cabinet situations in the NBA
– The Bulls have a ton of… pic.twitter.com/12h6gyFyfm

— Philip Charles VanDerHeyden IV (@PhilipCharlesIV) February 5, 2026

When the dust settles, Chicago will still have Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey, two cornerstone talents. They’ll look to add Ivey, Dillingham, and Miller to the long-term plans. They’re free of several expiring contracts that won’t tempt a renewal of their lucrative contracts, and they’ve stockpiled low-grade draft capital for future leverage in more rebuild-focused trades.

The last few months of the season echo the same message as before the regular season, just with a different group. It’s time to separate those who belong long-term to the organization from those who can be moved on from.