Bulls Waive Jaden Ivey After Stunning 24-Hour Spiral — AK’s Negligence Shines Again

Per Shams Charania, the Chicago Bulls have waived guard Jaden Ivey following his recent social media activity. Over the last 24 hours, a flip was switched in the worst way for the former Detroit Pistons top-five draft pick. He began making comments, videos, and posts on social media that started with his views on religion and being combative with several fans, and have since expanded into his opinions on the NBA supporting the LGBTQ community and his disapproval of it. The Bulls wasted no time parting ways with the newly-acquired guard, whose contract expires this summer, and it turns all attention once again to Arturas Karnisovas in terms of the franchise’s future. Clearly, Ivey’s mental well-being is at the forefront of concern, but as far as the organization’s operations, the question remains how Karnisovas did not do more research into a player who not only has gone on this baffling social media tear, but also a guy who actively admits his playing days are over, he’ll never be the same player as he was prior to the massive injury he sustained in January of 2025, and that was pre-labeled a “preacher” according to Joe Cowley of Chicago Sun-Times.

Shifts The Front Office Summer Plan

With nine expiring contracts after the next eight games, Chicago’s summer could get hectic in a hurry. As detailed here, Ivey was one of the franchise’s long-term assets it planned to invest in as a running mate to Josh Giddey. Taking today’s news into consideration, they’ll clearly be pivoting from that projected backcourt. In short, it means Karnisovas traded Kevin Huerter to a contending roster for a player who appeared in only 4 games for the franchise. Two things to note: first, Huerter was never going to net a slam-dunk addition, but he could’ve been flipped elsewhere for draft capital or a young asset with investment potential, and the second being that the last 24 hours could not have been foreseen, but the writing was on the wall months ago that Ivey’s career between the lines was rapidly declining and that he was not going to be the same player he was coming out of Purdue. The latter portion should’ve been easily detectable by Chicago’s front office leader.

By the way, it's important to note during the trade even the Bulls media was informed that Ivey's a "preacher" so be prepared for that in interviews. He's obviously derailed into something else … but if we heard that, what was AK listening to before the trade? The streets talk.

— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) March 30, 2026

Without unraveling specifics on Ivey’s last 24 hours of rants and posts, all basketball fans hope he can find health and peace. For the Bulls, it shifts the future in a new direction.

Collin Sexton Might Be Sticking Around

The roster implications of today’s reports mean one thing: the door just opened for another guard to sign an extension. With Ivey out of the picture, Giddey and Tre Jones under contract for several years, and Rob Dillingham slowly earning his minutes off the bench, there’s new room for two more guards. Most mock drafts have Chicago finding the backcourt piece that fits best alongside their 23-year-old point guard, and the majority of rumors say Anfernee Simons is headed elsewhere this summer, leaving Collin Sexton as the lone option to fill the spot until the rebuild is closer to completion. This isn’t all bad news for Chicago, as he’s been the highest-motor, easiest-to-root-for addition at the trade deadline and brings a competitive fire that will help motivate and teach the youngsters how to play with grit and toughness despite the anticipated losing record. He’s already proven to be a solid role model for the next wave of talent and will run the bench unit until Dillingham’s offensive abilities fully evolve.

Collin Sexton last 9 games

20.7 PPG
2.6 RPG
3.1 APG
1.1 SPG
2.9 3/PG
54% FG
25.8 MPG

His playing time has been all over the place throughout this stretch, but he has produced consistent value regardless, and has taken over a lot of scoring and usage responsibilities in Chicago…

— Fantasy 365 (@FantasyBall365) March 28, 2026

Is today’s news with Ivey the final straw for the Karnisovas leadership group, or does ownership see this as an unforeseen turn of events?