INSTANT GRADE: Bulls Reroute Ousmane Dieng in Three-Team Deal for New Center

At least the Chicago Bulls have a center?

With roughly 20 minutes to go until the NBA trade deadline, Arturas Karnisovas struck his seventh deal. The executive has decided to reroute forward Ousmane Dieng to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-team deal with the Phoenix Suns. In return, Chicago will add veteran center Nick Richards.

Dieng initially came over to Chicago as part of the Coby White deal. The Charlotte Hornets acquired him earlier in the day from the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to package him with Collin Sexton and three second-round picks for White. While the addition of Dieng appeared to align with the Bulls' approach of adding former lottery picks in need of a new home, Chicago's immediate need for frontcourt depth seemed to take precedence.

Bulls get: Nick Richards
Bucks get: Nigel Hayes-Davis, Ousmane Dieng
Suns get: Cole Anthony, Amir Coffey

Richard has appeared in 28 games for the Suns this season, where he has averaged 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.1 minutes of action.

Grading the Chicago Bulls' Trade for Nick Richards

Nick Richards of the Phoenix Suns — Nov 29, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns center Nick Richards (2) against the Denver Nuggets at the Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bulls were in obvious need of a true center. With Zach Collins out indefinitely and Nikola Vucevic moved to the Boston Celtics, head coach Billy Donovan had Jalen Smith as his only logical option at the five.

With that being the case, the Bulls proceeded to first add Guerschon Yabusele in a deal with the New York Knicks. The only problem is that Yabusele stands a mere six-foot-eight. While he certainly plays bigger and stronger than his height suggests, his addition still left a pretty clear void on the depth chart. Nick Richards fills that void.

Standing a towering six-foot-eleven with a seven-foot-four wingspan, Richard will provide a level of rim protection and rebounding that the Bulls now desperately need. For what it's worth, during his time split between the Hornets and Suns during the 2024-25 season, Richards averaged a solid 9.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game.

Richards is also on an expiring contract, meaning the Bulls avoided dipping into this offseason's staggering amount of financial flexibility. Might they look to re-sign him for cheap in the summer if he performs well? Sure, but it's safest to look at Richards as a short-term option who immediately rounds out this roster and adds some experience down low.

But ... that's also why it's so darn confusing. Nearly everything about this deadline suggested that the Bulls were ready to take a meaningful step back and evaluate talent. If that is the goal, why give up a 22-year-old former lottery pick and forward for a short-term fix at the five? The only reason to make this move is if you're still interested in winning games over the next handful of weeks. And, well, that's not necessarily in the Bulls' best interest at this point!

Nonetheless, Dieng was headed toward restricted free agency and has struggled immensely over his career thus far. The Bulls clearly weren't all that interested. And, hey, let's not forget they still have 31 games left to play this season. Someone has to get rebounds!

GRADE: C