Chicago Continues Complete Firesale By Shipping Coby White To The Charlotte Hornets
The Chicago Bulls have seemingly fully committed to a rebuild. In the last 24 hours, they’ve shipped off five expiring contracts, the two longest-tenured Bulls, and added several future draft picks. First announced by ESPN’s Shams Charania, Arturas Karnisovas is sending Coby White and recently acquired Mike Conley to the Charlotte Hornets in another long-play deal. This deal adds another guard to the mix on an expiring contract, and leaves many to wonder if the Bulls have a bigger plan in place before tomorrow’s cutoff, or if they’re truly entering full tank mode. Here’s what they were able to net for White, and how the new assets contribute to a roster reconstruction.
Adding Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, Second-Round Picks
Considering the Bulls were originally hunting a first-round pick in exchange for Coby White, as reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, this is a weak return. Collin Sexton is an average rotational guard, at 27 years old, and is in the last year of his current contract. When projecting his next deal’s value, the best guess is that he’s not in Chicago’s long-term plans. They’ve already added 23-year-old Jaden Ivey and 26-year-old Anfernee Simons, meaning Sexton is the oldest, most expensive, and worst fit of the bunch. Ousmane Dieng is an unproven prospect who has spent several years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, earning minimal minutes off the bench and leaving little mark in the NBA. He’s only 22 years old and stands at 6’9″, so the Bulls will likely look to invest at a low price this summer when he hits restricted free agency. He heads to Chicago from Charlotte, where they acquired him and a second-round draft selection from the Thunder in exchange for Mason Plumlee earlier this afternoon.
The Hornets acquired Dieng and a second-rounder from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Mason Plumlee, sources said. Dieng was then re-routed to Chicago amid multiple transactions.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2026
Still Adding Expiring Contracts At Redundant Positions
For many fans, making four trades already at the trade cutoff is music to their ears, but in this case, it’s still left the masses unfulfilled. Even though Arturas Karnisovas has been busy retooling the roster for the future, there are still a lot of question marks. This will mark the fourth guard they’ve added in less than a day, and all four are on expiring contracts that end this summer. In addition, the Bulls have shipped away their starting center, with no replacement plan revealed yet. At a minimum, AK and the front office have to add a big man by tomorrow midday.
Look, I’m happy the #Bulls are actually gutting the team.
It’s just frustrating to see the diminished returns.
They have now traded Vuc, Coby, LaVine, DeRozan, Lonzo and did not get a SINGLE first round pick in return for any of them.
— Faizan Qurashi (@FaizanQurashi) February 4, 2026
If the deadline were over today, Chicago would have netted five second-round draft picks, three guards at the end of their contracts between 23 and 27 years old, and lost their starting big man. What else is Karnisovas prepping to do, and does this all lead to a play for a superstar, or a complete rebuild?