The Chicago Bulls — yes, those Bulls — have suddenly and quietly transformed into one of the most intriguing teams in the Eastern Conference. At 9–7, sitting ninth but playing far better than their record shows, Chicago is squeezing real momentum out of a young core that looks more connected, more confident and more dangerous by the week. Josh Giddey is evolving into the kind of franchise engine you can actually build around. Coby White is rediscovering the rhythm that once made him untouchable. Ayo Dosunmu keeps leveling up like he refuses to plateau. And Matas Buzelis? He’s starting to look exactly like the leap-forward prospect Chicago prayed he would become.
For the first time in years, the Bulls can see a direction. They can feel progress. It finally resembles something real.
But with that progress comes the question every rising team eventually faces: Who pushes this thing even further? Who adds the athletic burst they’re missing? Who brings wing scoring that bends defenses and forces adjustments?
One answer, pitched by FanSided’s Andrew Hanlon, has set Chicago sports radio on fire:
Indiana Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin.
And the timing? Couldn’t be more combustible.
Indiana is sliding fast without Tyrese Haliburton, tumbling toward the bottom of the East while drowning in a crowded guard-wing rotation. With long-term commitments to Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith — and Haliburton already locked on a max — Mathurin is suddenly the odd man out. A franchise casualty of numbers, timing and financial reality.
That opens a door.
And Chicago might be ready to sprint through it.
Mathurin isn’t a fix-everything player. But he is exactly the type of scorer the Bulls don’t have: a 6-foot-6, downhill, explosive bucket-getter who attacks the rim with force and scores in bunches. In just four games this season he’s averaging 27.8 points — the second-most in Pacers franchise history through a season’s first four contests — trailing only Reggie Miller by a single point. He opened the year with 36 and 26. Came back from a toe injury and immediately dropped 25.
Give him touches, and he detonates.
Chicago, unlike Indiana, can offer him something invaluable: space, responsibility, and room to grow into a featured role.
Billy Donovan has built a roster defined by effort, depth and internal development. Isaac Okoro is steady. Kevin Huerter stretches the floor. Patrick Williams has found his niche. But none of them possess Mathurin’s unique blend of size, speed and violent downhill scoring. He pressures defenses in ways Chicago simply cannot replicate right now.
And the Bulls have something else: flexibility.
They are projected to hold more cap space this summer than any team in the league. They face looming decisions on Dosunmu and White. Trading for Mathurin now gives them a chance to evaluate the chemistry while adding a 22-year-old scorer who hasn’t even approached his ceiling.
He doesn’t need to be a savior. He only needs to be part of the core.
Imagine lineups with Giddey, Dosunmu, Mathurin, Buzelis and Vucevic — or bigger, more physical looks with Giddey, Mathurin, Okoro, Buzelis and Jalen Smith. Donovan would suddenly have options — dangerous ones.
Momentum is real. The foundation is real.
But Chicago still needs perimeter scoring to truly rise in the East.
Mathurin fits the timeline, the energy and the upward trajectory.
If the Pacers open the door even a crack, the Bulls shouldn’t hesitate.
This might be the moment — and the player — that pushes Chicago from “interesting” to something far more dangerous.
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