The Bulls are trading Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips to the Timberwolves, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday, just hours before the trade deadline. Minnesota will receive Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks in return.
This is just the latest move for a Chicago team that has been busy in recent days as it looks to rebuild, shipping out Kevin Huerter, Dario Šarić (acquired in an earlier trade), a 2026 first-round protected swap, Nikola Vučević, Coby White, Mike Conley Jr. and Dalen Terry. In return, including the Dosunmu trade, they’ve added nine second-round picks and nine players, some of whom they flipped in other trades.
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Dosunmu was drafted by his hometown Bulls in the second round in 2021 out of Illinois and was named to the All-Rookie team. Now in his fifth season in Chicago, Dosunmu is averaging a career-high 15 points per game, plus 3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Phillips was drafted by the Celtics in the second round in 2023 and eventually landed in Chicago after a post-draft trade to the Wizards. The Tennessee product has played minimal minutes for the Bulls over the last three seasons, averaging 3.6 points per game.
This week’s moves signal a shift for a Bulls team that hasn’t made it past the play-in tournament since the 2021-22 season, when they lost in the first round. Chicago hasn’t made it past the first round since the 2014-25 season, Tom Thibodeau’s final year as head coach. This season, they’re 24-27, hovering around 10th in the Eastern Conference.
As for the Bulls’ return, Dillingham has averaged 10 minutes off the bench for Minnesota, scoring 4 points per game, while Miller has played in just 49 games over the past three seasons.
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