Nine Expiring Deals, One Big Question — Who Survives the Bulls’ Roster Reset?

After the next eight games, Chicago’s roster becomes a ghost town. With nine expiring contracts, six of them being fully contracted NBA players, decisions will need to be made. After the trade deadline, many fans were confused by the strategy, simply because five of the acquired players could walk in free agency just two months after being brought to town. With a surplus of guards and the most commonly-mocked name attached to the Bulls via the draft being another guard, the expectation is that several of them will be shown the door this summer. How does AK navigate a roster with only a handful of contracts extending beyond this season, and how low does the rebuild dip?

Likely To Walk

It’s even tougher to gauge who will be retained this offseason when looking at the last six weeks. Take Jaden Ivey or Anfernee Simons, for example: both were injured for stretches of their tenure with Chicago, neither fully integrated with Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, and both are older than the target age for the rebuilding core. Here’s the estimation for who won’t be back next year.

Anfernee Simons: The former Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics will not be back in the Windy City. Whether it’s an AK decision that he’s beyond the age range for the current nucleus, or a Simons decision that he wants to contribute to a contending product rather than a bottom-dwelling team for the next few campaigns, it’s doubtful he’ll resign for an extended stay.

Nick Richards: This one’s fairly straightforward; he was a last-minute add at the deadline to fill the center role through the remainder of the year, but neither Richards nor Chicago has long-term aspirations for a relationship. He’s too old to fit alongside the current timeline, his goal of contributing to a playoff-qualifying product, and the ease of replacing his role are all factors for his departure.

Guerschon Yabusele: Similar to Richards, he was added to replace the departing or injured big men down the stretch, and does not fit the rebuild timeline of Giddey or Buzelis. With Zach Collins and Jalen Smith returning, he serves no purpose in the long term.

Collin Sexton: This is the most questionable departure, as he’s been the most productive Bull over the last six weeks. However, when scoping 3-5 years, he doesn’t present a better option at guard depth than Tre Jones or Isaac Okoro, and has too much overlap with Giddey and an incoming guard via the draft.

The Bulls added a bunch of guys with something to prove, and it could keep them in play-in race.

Simons, Sexton, Yabusele, Richards – they're all trying to make money this summer. Meanwhile, Dillingham is trying to prove his worth.

Those guys don't care about lotto odds!

— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) February 8, 2026

Extensions Incoming

It’s still too early to say for sure which players in Chicago will be extended beyond this year, but here’s who would have a 50%+ chance of sticking around beyond the next eight games.

Jaden Ivey: The gut says Ivey should be shown the door. With the injury history, the prospect of grabbing a guard in this year’s draft, and the admittance that he’s nowhere near the player he used to be prior to injury, odds say he’s not a future asset. However, this was the biggest splash of the deadline. He was a former top-five pick, and he’s a restricted free agent, meaning Chicago can wait for the market to develop and match any offer he receives. AK’s history says he will give a shorter extension to see his gamble through.

Zach Collins: This is a tough one, because when he’s on the floor, there’s arguably been no better big man in Chicago over the last few seasons. His two-way motor, three-point abilities, and consistent output have provided stability and versatility. However, he’s missed over 65% of his possible games with the franchise, including 72 of 82 this year. Since he’ll be a cheap option who knows the system and fits well with Giddey and Buzelis, expect a short extension at a low price.

Zach Collins says “I’d love to be back here.” Says when he landed in Chicago at last year’s deadline that he found a lot of confidence and rhythm. pic.twitter.com/z7kh5shCve

— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) February 23, 2026

The last three expiring deals for G League or two-way players are for Mac McClung, Yuki Kawamura, and Lachlan Olbrich. Unless they’re blown away by an offer from an opposing club, which is doubtful outside of possibly McClung, expect all three to return to Chicago.

In a summer that could feature an entire flip of the roster, do you trust Arturas Karnisovas in the driver’s seat for this and the draft?