Bulls aim to leave NBA's 'middle' with busy deadline - ESPN

The Chicago Bulls were one of the most active teams in the NBA before Thursday's trade deadline, executing seven deals to bring in a new mix of young players and extra draft picks. It was a flurry of moves vice president Arturas Karnisovas said came about because the team was «not satisfied with being in the middle.»

«Being in the middle is what we don't want to do,» Karnisovas told reporters after Thursday's deadline. «We've seen that for the past four years and we want to change that.»

The Bulls deconstructed their roster in just a few days leading up to the deadline, trading away top scorer Coby White, leading rebounder Nikola Vucevic, key reserves Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter and former draft picks Dalen Terry and Julian Philips.

In exchange, the Bulls added a bevy of guards — Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons — Leonard Miller, Nick Richards, Guerschon Yabusele and nine second round picks.

Karnisovas did not directly refer to the Bulls as rebuilding, calling it instead «a stage that we're in,» but he laid out the tentpoles of what Chicago is prioritizing: youth, financial flexibility and draft capital. He outlined the team's core pieces — Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis and Noah Essengue — and said he remained committed to building around them going forward.

«The play-in is not our goal,» Karnisovas said. «A championship is. We know where we are in standings, and we are not satisfied with being in the middle as an organization or for our fans. At the same time, we are committed to building the right way without skipping steps. This process takes time, but we've already made [a] meaningful shift in how we are approaching roster building and development.»

Chicago is currently in 10th place in