One week later, what’s good about Bulls’ new additions?

One week after the trade deadline, how did the Bulls fare with their flurry of deals?

For starters, it would help to know what the plan is, if any.

Are the Bulls going to keep some of these new additions? Will they try to be awful in 2026-27 and hope for a good draft pick? Will they cut everyone loose and create some cap space?

Whatever the path, the chances of success are not very good. One potential angle is the Bulls need the right fit to play between Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis at the two guard. Ayo Dosunmu was a solid choice, but he's gone now.

Anfernee Simons got off to a nice start with the Bulls, going 6-for-13 from 3-point range for 22 points in his debut at Toronto. Maybe a shooter in that spot is what the Bulls need.

Simons has faded since then, hitting just 6 of 25 3s over the next three games and throwing up a dud with just 7 points against his former team in Boston on Wednesday.

That's sort of a microcosm of Simons' career. He's a talented player but hasn't built consistency during his eight NBA seasons. His career 3-point percentage of 38.2% is slightly higher than Coby White's 36.8.

Collin Sexton is a proven, professional scorer, with a much lower rate of 3-point attempts than Simons. He'd be perfect in a third-guard role who can add scoring pop to the second unit; a better version of another departed Bull, Kevin Huerter.

But if the Bulls are trying to tank, they shouldn't re-sign Sexton. If they're trying to be competitive next season, he'd be a keeper.

Jaden Ivey is younger than the two players listed above and will be a restricted free agent this summer, compared to unrestricted for Sexton and Simons.

So Ivey is a candidate to keep, there's just one problem. After a broken left leg and cartilage repair on his right knee, he's not the amazing athlete we remember at Purdue.

Ivey was averaging 17.6 points for the Pistons when he broke his leg early in the 2024-25 season, so he's had NBA success and might reach that level again. To find out, the Bulls will have to re-sign him. The good news is that task should be relatively inexpensive, since he doesn't figure to be in high demand.

Rob Dillingham is a possible high-ceiling project, the No. 8 overall draft pick in 2024 who couldn't get on the floor in Minnesota. The speed is evident, along with some tools. He was a good 3-point shooter during his one season at Kentucky but not in the NBA.

Dillingham is likely not a perfect fit to play next to Giddey, but he could turn into a good player. No point getting carried away with his 16 points and 7 rebounds at Boston, most of which happened in the second half of a blowout. By my count, Dillingham cooked Nikola Vucevic twice and put Hugo Gonzalez on skates once. The 6-foot-2 guard also hit the side of the backboard on a corner 3-point attempt.

Guerschon Yabusele feels like an amalgamation of several Bulls deadline acquisitions of the past. Let's call him John Salmons, Hakim Warrick and Joffrey Lauvergne rolled into one. Decent player, but he's probably not sticking around.

Nick Richards is a decent backup center with a solid track record in the league. To get him the Bulls traded away Ousmane Dieng, who arrived from Charlotte in the White deal. Dieng scored 17 points and hit five 3-pointers for Milwaukee on Wednesday, so it's possible the Bulls made a terrible mistake.

Not much to say about 6-10 Leonard Miller, since he's only played nine minutes so far. You made the trade, Bulls, play him.

As mentioned many, many times here, the Bulls have gaping holes at center and power forward beyond Jalen Smith, who is under contract through next season. So nobody received at the trade deadline is really a must keep.

People will point to Detroit as an example of a tank that worked. Keep in mind, the Pistons added veterans quickly. On the current squad, four of the nine players in the main rotation are in their 30s (Tobias Harris, Duncan Robinson, Caris Levert, Javonte Green).

The Bulls are trying to build around Giddey and Buzelis. Add a couple of decent big men and they could be in a spot where Sexton or Simons could help. If a tear down is the goal, prepare to be bad.