Bulls trade their two 2nd-round picks and reportedly acquire Kam Jones from Pacers

Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune on Jun 24, 2026

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls made a pair of trades Wednesday on the second night of the NBA draft to move off both of their second-round picks.

Before Day 2 of the draft began, the Bulls traded the No. 56 pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations. The Bulls later struck a deal to select Purdue guard Braden Smith with the No. 38 pick — the eighth in the second round — and send him to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Kam Jones, future pick swaps and more cash, per an ESPN report.

Jones was selected with the same pick — No. 38 — in the 2025 draft. He played in 37 games as a rookie, including seven starts, and averaged 4.4 points and 3.2 assists. At 24, Jones is on the older end of potential prospects that the Bulls front office has favored in this initial talent-identification process. The 6-foot-4 guard was a solid 3-point shooter early in his four-year career at Marquette, averaging 40.9% from behind the arc as a sophomore. But he struggled to showcase that promise in his first season with the Pacers, which points to another development project for the Bulls.

Executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham inherited a wealth of second-round picks from his predecessor, Artūras Karnišovas, who had amassed 14 second-rounders over the next seven drafts before he was fired in early April. These picks vary in value based on their proximity to the end of the first round, but they can be packaged together or simply utilized to acquire more spending money. For Graham, the usage of the remaining five second-round picks will be a crucial aspect of navigating the next few years of roster reconstruction.