Instant Grade: Bulls Steal Nets' Nic Claxton in Three-Team Trade on Draft Night Eve

In a stunning move on draft night eve, the Chicago Bulls have jumped into into a three-team trade.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Minnesota Timberwolves are sending Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for the No. 33 pick. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets will send big man Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.

The Timberwolves are essentially offloading the remainder of Randle's contract in order to open up more future flexibility. They are looking to re-sign former Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu this offseason, and they also currently have Naz Reid, who has played like a worthy starter to fill Randle's role.

As for the Nets, they take a chance on an All-Star big and get a higher pick in Tuesday's draft in the process. They also shed some salary themselves, sending the remaining two years of Claxton's deal to the Bulls.

The deal itself can not be officially complete until after the league's moratorium period ends following free agency. However, if Charania's initial framework is correct, Chicago has seemingly given up nothing in the process. They instead merely used their league-high cap space to add Claxton and fill a clear position of need.

Claxton is owed a combined $44.4 million over the next two seasons before becoming an unrestricted free agent. The deal leaves Bryson Graham with plenty of cap space – a little over $30+ million – as he continues to build his first roster as lead executive.

UPDATE: Per Spotrac's Keith Smith, the Bulls will theoretically have to trade something to make this deal legal. But that could merely be cash considerations. We'll see.

Chicago will need to send something to Minnesota or vice versa for this trade to be legal. That can be accomplished by sending out cash or top-55 protected second-round pick. Doesn't have to be anything with true trade value.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 23, 2026

UPDATE AGAIN: According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, Mouhamadou Gueye is being sent to the Timberwolves to make the deal official. So, yes, it appears the Bulls essentially used this deal like a free-agent signing. A very savvy first move by Bryson Graham.

The Bulls are trading Mo Gueye to Minnesota, sources say, to complete the three-team deal that sends Julius Randle and No. 28 in tomorrow’s NBA Draft to Brooklyn for No. 33, and reroutes Nic Claxton into Chicago’s cap space in the new league year. Gueye’s salary is non-guaranteed…
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 23, 2026

Grading the Chicago Bulls' Trade for Nic Claxton

Mar 29, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Once again, details could still emerge, so we have to be prepared to potentially alter this grade down the road. If the framework of the trade stays this way, however, it's hard not to see it as anything other than a massive win for the Bulls.

Bryson Graham's first move is to add a completely serviceable starting center and rim protector for absolutely nothing. Yes, they will have to pay the remainder of Claxton's contract, but they have a very clean cap sheet and the deal itself isn't anything daunting. In fact, Claxton's contract is descending, with him owed $23.3 million in 2026-27 and $21.0 million in 2027-28.

He also fills a very obvious position of need for this franchise. Other than Jalen Smith, the Bulls do not have a current center option on the roster. Rim protection has also been a long-running problem for the team, and this is exactly the area in which Claxton excels.

Indeed, Claxton has averaged 1.6 blocks per game over his career. He's even averaged over 2.0 a game in two of his seven seasons in the league. While Claxton isn't a floor-spacer on the offensive end, he is a switchable big who moves well and has some great athletic pop. Speaking of which, he undoubtedly fits the SLAP profile that Graham has touted in the past.

Having said that, Claxton isn't some kind of zero offensively. He is a good rim-runner and finisher, shooting 62.2 percent from the field over his career. Likewise, Claxton has always been a strong offensive rebounder, scooping over 2.0 a game and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities. His passing has also long stood out.

The 2025-26 campaign wasn't necessarily the best season, averaging 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. But Claxton still stayed healthy and was fighting an uphill battle on a tanking team. Overall, he is not at all the kind of player who you typically add for nothing in return, yet new lead executive Bryson Graham has seemingly done exactly that.

Now, are the Bulls going to be a winning team over the final two years of Claxton's contract? Probably not, and that's why some might argue for the cap space to be used differently. At the same time, Claxton is still only 27 years old and could prove to be worth re-signing down the road. This also isn't the same NBA. The league just changed the tanking rules, and the Bulls need to ensure they're not swimming at the bottom of the barrel. Claxton will help with that.

And, hey, isn't there something to be said about building an immediate identity? Graham has stressed the importance of being a two-way team. The Bulls' defense has been near the bottom of the NBA for years and Claxton can help clean things up on that end. Especially when thinking about the development of young players, you don't want opposing teams to be effortlessly feasting at the rim.

At the end of the day, if things hold, this might as well have been a no-brainer for the Bulls. They got a talented, young big man while maintaining all their assets and significant financial flexibility.

INSTANT GRADE: A-

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