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The Madison Street Notebook · Around the beat

Around the Beat: Outlets Weigh In on the Hield Deal

Outlets react to the Hield-Dillingham swap, camp roster churn, and takes on Giddey, Powell and the center spot.

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By the Bulls Nightly Desk · Monday, September 28

Chicago's trade sending Buddy Hield to the Bulls, with Rob Dillingham headed to the Hornets, is now confirmed, and the outlets covering the team spent the week arguing over what it means. Camp roster moves continued alongside opinion pieces on Giddey, Powell, Buzelis, Tre Jones and the center spot.

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Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Hield deal now official. Bulls.com confirmed the deal on September 27: Buddy Hield arrives from Charlotte, Rob Dillingham goes the other way. ESPN, the Chicago Sun-Times's Joe Cowley and Hoops Rumors' Arthur Hill had all reported it a day earlier. Hield carries a $9.7 million cap figure this season; Chicago sits at $161.5 million, still under the cap.

Reading Bryson Graham's intentions. Pippen Ain't Easy ran two columns treating the trade as a window into general manager Bryson Graham's real plan, with writer Morris Bankston going further and telling Graham to trade three more players. Nothing in the transaction log points to another deal; that reading is opinion, not reporting.

Cornerstone case for Buzelis. A separate column called Matas Buzelis a Bulls cornerstone in the making, pointing to last season, when he played 77 games and averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a night at 21. Another argued Tre Jones' value now outstrips his rebuilding team, citing last season's 14.1 points and 5.4 assists as a backup guard.

Long views on Giddey, Powell. One column urged Josh Giddey, day-to-day now with a right ankle issue and a return eyed for around October 1, to study Chris Finch's offensive approach. Another pitched Norman Powell, who signed with Chicago as a free agent this summer at $21.5 million, for a homecoming elsewhere — a scenario nothing in the transaction log supports.

Center spot still questioned. Ashley Mezewich argued the Bulls still need center help. The roster already answers part of that: Nic Claxton arrived from Brooklyn this summer at $23.1 million specifically to shore up a defense that finished 22nd last season, with Zach Collins and Orlando Robinson behind him.

Camp roster settles. Bulls.com's official training camp list and the Chicago Sun-Times's Joe Cowley both flagged rookie Caleb Wilson as camp's headliner. Hoops Rumors noted Marquel Sutton's addition inside a piece about Grizzlies moves, one more name in a camp group that has turned over five times since September 22.

On deck Camp continues before the preseason opener October 7 against the Suns, with games following against the Grizzlies, at Denver and at Milwaukee through October 14. The regular season opens October 21 at Toronto.
Is the Buddy Hield trade to the Bulls official?

Yes. Bulls.com confirmed on September 27 that Chicago acquired Buddy Hield from the Hornets, with Rob Dillingham going to Charlotte.

Are the Bulls trading anyone else?

Not according to any confirmed transaction. Some outlets have floated more moves as opinion, but nothing beyond the Hield-Dillingham deal has been reported as completed.

By the Bulls Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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