Report: Bulls acquire Ivey, Simons, Conley in pair of deals

The Bulls made a couple trades with unclear consequences Tuesday.

First, they acquired guard Jaden Ivey from Detroit and veteran guard Mike Conley from Minnesota, while sending Kevin Huerter and newly-acquired Dario Saric to the Pistons, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

A few minutes later, another trade broke on X — center Nikola Vucevic to Boston for guard Anfernee Simons. Ivey and Simons are both 6-foot-3, athletic two guards in the final year of their contracts, who have been up and down in the NBA.

Ivey, who turns 24 on Feb. 13, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Purdue. At the start of last season, he was averaging 17.6 points per game. But then a broken left fibula knocked him out for the season and he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October.

He has played in 33 games this season, but averaged just 16.8 minutes and 8.2 points for the Pistons. And he'll be a restricted free agent this summer. In reality, Ivey's health and future are huge question marks.

Simons, 26, was drafted by Portland in 2018. He had two seasons with the Trail Blazers where he averaged more than 20 points per game, from 2022-24. He was traded to Boston for Jrue Holiday last summer and didn't play as big a role with the Celtics, averaging 14.2 points off the bench.

The quick analysis is the Bulls landed two players who could be helpful pieces for the future. But there's not much time to figure out what they have before both players become free agents this summer.

More than anything, the Bulls needed to get bigger and add help for the front line, and they haven't addressed that at all. The Bulls have until 2 p.m. Thursday to make any other deals.

Vucevic performed well during five years in Chicago, and perhaps now will have a meaningful role on a playoff contender in Boston.

Conley, 38, has been playing low minutes for the Timberwolves this season, but the Bulls might have a role for him with Josh Giddey and Tre Jones both sidelined at the moment with left hamstring strains.

Saric was acquired from Sacramento last week in a deal that also brought two second-round picks. The Bulls play in Milwaukee on Tuesday for their final game before the trade deadline hits.