TORONTO — Ayo Dosunmu will play for a basketball team outside of his home state for the first time in his career.
The Chicago Bulls traded the fifth-year guard to the Timberwolves on Thursday a few hours before the deadline, sending Dosunmu and forward Julian Phillips to Minnesota for point guard Rob Dillingham, small forward Leonard Miller and four second-round draft picks. The Athletic first reported the move.
The Bulls added nine second-round picks in their seven trades before the deadline and now own a total of 14.
Dosunmu always has been a hometown kid. After starring for Morgan Park in high school, he spent three years as an anchor for Illinois, leading the Illini to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his junior season. He returned home to Chicago as a second-round draft pick in 2021 when the Bulls selected him at No. 38.
After several years of gradual development amid shifting roles and a major shoulder injury, Dosunmu cemented himself as an elite two-way player this season. He ranks eighth in the NBA in 3-point shooting this season at 45.1% while taking a career-high 4.3 attempts per game.
His defensive acumen and improved on-ball decision-making created a complete package that drew noticeable attention from deadline buyers looking to make a push for the 2026 playoffs.
The Bulls were open to extending Dosunmu this summer to retain a valuable piece of their youth development plan on an affordable contract. But at 26, Dosunmu already had begun to age out of the team’s current development timeline, which is focused around 21-year-old Matas Buzelis and 23-year-old Josh Giddey.
Ultimately, the Bulls chose to cash in on the trade value Dosunmu offered as a long-range sniper who can pick up some of the toughest defensive assignments in the league.
The Bulls traded into the second round of the 2023 draft to select Phillips, who quickly joined the ranks of toolsy forwards with limited offensive abilities who never quite fit into the rotation. He averaged 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game for the Bulls this season.
At 21, Dillingham is another addition who fits the profile of young developmental players who can slot into the timeline alongside Buzelis and Giddey. The second-year point guard struggled to break into the backcourt rotation in Minnesota, averaging only 3.5 points and 1.7 assists in 35 appearances this season. The Bulls will test if he’s ready for a heftier load in the second unit.
Miller similarly fits the age profile at 22 and balances out the composition of the roster, which skewed heavily toward guards in the flurry of trade activity this week. He had logged only five minutes per game in 19 appearances this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds.
Miller is in the final year of his contract with a team option for 2026-27. His brother Emanuel was on a two-way contract with the Bulls but was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday in a three-way deal that included the Sacramento Kings.
The Bulls traded six of their eight players on expiring contracts in addition to waiving Jevon Carter. Center Zach Collins was the only player on an expiring deal whom the Bulls didn’t trade this week. Collins’ proclivity toward injuries — he has played in only 10 games this season because of a broken wrist and a sprained toe — cooled trade talks in the months leading up to the deadline.
