Bulls Notes: Guards, Trade Deadline, Giddey, Rose

The Bulls defeated the Timberwolves on Thursday night in a game that could serve as something of an audition for several Chicago guards, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cowley had previously reported that the Wolves, on the lookout for additional backcourt depth, have potential trade interest in Tre Jones, Coby White, and/or Ayo Dosunmu. On Thursday, Jones had a clutch layup to give the Bulls the lead with 31.1 seconds remaining while White put up 22 points with four rebounds and four assists.

Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune (subscription required) explored the same subject, considering which Bulls guard might appeal most to Minnesota and what the Wolves would offer for each player.

While White has struggled to remain healthy this season, Poe writes that his strong play of late, which includes a healthy stretch in which he hasn’t missed three games in a row since early December, could assuage concerns about his durability. However, White’s $12.9MM cap hit is the largest of the three.

Dosumnu’s $7.5MM salary would be much easier for the Wolves to match, while his defensive presence and knock-down off-ball shooting could make him a nice fit in lineups next to Anthony Edwards.

As for Jones, his appeal could stem in part from his long-term team control, as there are still two more years left on his contract after this season, Poe observes. She adds that he’s not Minnesota’s preferred target, but he’s played well this season and could provide the Wolves with the type of steady floor general they could use as Mike Conley has aged out of a starting spot.

We have more from the Bulls:

• Head coach Billy Donovan says he doesn’t believe that the upcoming stretch of games will be a significant factor in determining the team’s approach at the trade deadline. “With the number of guys we have that are going to be free agents at the end of the season, I just think there’s probably going to be conversations they have, but a lot of it is going to be does it make sense? You have to have (trade) partners to do that, right?” Donovan said. “I’m sure they’re all in communication and talking, and they’ve always been very gracious to come to me and say, ‘This is what we’re talking about, this is what’s going on.’ But I haven’t had any of that or anything that would indicate these next (six) games before the trade deadline are going to be really critical for the team.” The Bulls’ coach adds that when vice president of basketball ops Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley aren’t on the road scouting, he’s in touch with them every day, and he expects any deal that is made to be somewhat down to the wire. “It seems like all the movement happens the day before (or) the day of (the deadline), so to speak, where there’s so much activity,” he said.
• The Bulls have won four straight games, and Josh Giddey‘s return from his 25-day absence due to a hamstring strain has been a big part of the last two victories over Minnesota and Boston, Poe writes. In the matchup with the Wolves, Giddey came off the bench to score 21 points with five assists and six rebounds in 26 minutes. “I felt good,” Giddey said after the game. “It felt like normal basketball. When I got out there tonight, it was nothing new. … I didn’t feel rusty. It didn’t feel like I’d been out too long.” While his shot didn’t fall against the Celtics, he still managed 10 assists and eight rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. More importantly, Giddey’s return allows the team to get an extended look at the backcourt pairing of him and White. Poe notes that the team is consistently better when those two are on the court, while K.C. Johnson of CHSN adds (via Twitter) that it appears that Giddey will remain coming off the bench for the near future as he ramps up his workload.
• After the Bulls’ victory over the Celtics on Saturday, the team retired franchise legend Derrick Rose‘s jersey in an emotional ceremony attended by Rose’s former teammates, writes Jamal Collier for ESPN. Rose is just the fifth Bull to have his jersey retired, along with Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen. “We wanted to honor him, but we wanted to take the time to actually really plan something really, really special,” Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf said. “I guess we could have done it last year, but I feel like this is the right way to do it. Give him time to prepare and give us time to ramp up to the big day.” Rose says that even though he’s now retired, he’s still chasing rarefied air, this time in the business world. “The astute group of people that I’m chasing after, they’re not on the ‘gram,” he said. “They’re reading. I feel like that’s the sacrifice I have to make right now. In order to get to my goals, I have to make a gambit move.”