INSTANT GRADE: Chicago Bulls Land Jaden Ivey in Trade with Pistons, Timberwolves

Who are you, and what have you done with the Chicago Bulls!?

The Bulls confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that they mean business. Arturas Karnisovas made his first move of the season this past weekend, helping the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers facilitate their De'Andre Hunter trade. In return for taking on Dario Saric's salary, the Bulls were handed two future second-round picks.

Fast forward to today, and the Bulls immediately used Saric's expiring contract in another three-team trade. This time, the organization did pursue a hopeful roster upgrade, landing former lottery pick Jaden Ivey from the Detroit Pistons.

Here is the full deal, as first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania:

Bulls get: Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley
Pistons get: Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, 2026 protected pick-swap (via Minnesota)
Timberwolves get: N/A (financial flexibility and an open roster spot)

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network went on to share that the Bulls remain active on the guard market. In other words, buckle up for even more trades!

Grading Chicago Bulls Trade for Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley

Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons — Jan 7, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) guards Chicago Bulls guard Kevin Huerter (13) in the first quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Simply put, the Chicago Bulls have made their second consecutive savvy trade.

The team essentially turned two expiring contracts into two more expiring contracts. The only difference? One of those for Chicago is a 23-year-old former lottery pick in Jaden Ivey. They will now have an opportunity to evaluate Ivey over the second half of this season before attempting to sign him to a relatively team-friendly deal in free agency. If he struggles to make a strong impression, the Bulls could always choose to let him go with little concern, as all they gave up were two looming unrestricted free agents.

Obviously, the hope will be that Ivey can stick around. Similar to the mold they followed with adding Josh Giddey and Isaac Okoro, they now have an opportunity to serve as the high-upside guard's change-of-scenery. He was long seen as a questionable fit alongside Cade Cunningham in Detroit, and injury trouble saw him fall behind as the franchise took the next step. The former No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft will have an immediate opportunity to prove his worth in Chicago.

In its simplest form, assuming Dario Saric plays very little or not at all in Detroit, the Bulls basically found a way to move Kevin Huerter for Ivey and the cost of Conley's expiring $10.8 million deal. Considering this franchise's need for young talent, it's hard not to give that a thumbs up. The only thing you may have liked to see is perhaps a second-rounder for taking Conley's money and helping the Timberwolves potentially pursue a huge upgrade. But Ivey is a darn good consolation prize, as is the financial flexibility they continue to have.

Indeed, let's not look past the fact that the Bulls have created a sizable $18.0 million trade exception in this deal. As Yossi Gozlan wisely noted, they can absorb Ivey into their unused mid-level exception and thus maintain plenty of space to continue taking back money in exchange for future assets.

Last thing to note: Adding Ivey almost surely means that another player trade is on the horizon. Keeping Coby White and/or Ayo Dosunmu makes even less sense now. However, if the Bulls were able to find somewhere for Huerter, it does make you wonder how they might try to use any of their remaining expiring money. Could Nikola Vucevic find a new home? What about Zach Collins?

GRADE: (I can't believe I'm saying this again ...) A-

UPDATE: Nikola Vucevic did, in fact, find a new home.