There’s uncertainty regarding the status of two recently acquired guards, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told the media, including The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley, on Tuesday.
Anfernee Simons is dealing with a left hand fracture. After Simons injured his hand on Saturday, he had imaging done on Monday. That revealed what the Bulls referred to as a preexisting fracture in the hand, which he’s been dealing with since training camp with the Celtics. However, he doesn’t require a surgical procedure unless the injury worsens, and he could return soon.
“He did have some difficulty in Boston with it in training camp and missed a little bit of time, maybe 10 days with it,” Donovan said. “The fracture hasn’t quite healed and I think him seeing a hand specialist they decided that once the pain subsides, he’s fine to go back to play. I don’t know how long that’s going to be.”
Jaden Ivey, meanwhile, is dealing with left knee soreness that will keep him out at least two weeks. Donovan discussed that issue in more detail on Tuesday.
“We started him on a program, right now just to ramp him up physically,” Donovan said. “A lot of it has been to get the strength back in around his knee. That process started a couple days ago, so he’s in the midst of doing that. Talking to the medical guys it’s going to be pretty intense for him, the program to get the strength back as quickly as possible, so he’s going to have to really work hard on that part of it. I think he feels better not playing, the pain has subsided, but the biggest concern the medical guys have is his strength.”
Ivey underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee in October. He previous suffered a fractured left fibula last January that ended his 2024/25 season early.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Coby White isn’t dwelling on the past when it comes to his Bulls career. White was dealt to Charlotte earlier this month with free agency looming. “You could always live in ‘what could have been,'” he said, per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve kind of learned through my life that ‘what could have been’ brings you nothing but anxiousness and worry. Things happen for a reason. That’s just how the chips fell. A lot of it is out of your control. I don’t really try to live in the ‘what if.'” White made his Hornets debut against his former team on Tuesday and finished with 10 points and four assists in 16 minutes.
- The Bulls’ losing streak stretched to 10 games, their longest since January 2019, as they were blown out 131-99 by the Hornets on Tuesday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. Matas Buzelis was the lone bright spot, as he scored a career-high 32 points.
- Zach Collins was shut down for the season over the weekend after it was determined he required toe surgery. He actually apologized to Donovan for his lack of availability this season. ‘‘I just told him, ‘I’m sorry, man,’’’ Collins said, per Cowley. ‘‘I thought I had a lot more to give him this year. Unfortunately, between the wrist and the toe, I just didn’t have a chance to show it. ‘I thought I had a really good summer. I was really looking forward to helping the team. It’s been a frustrating year injury-wise as a whole for the team, but individually I knew I had more to give him and felt like the team would have been in a better spot had I not gone through all these injuries.’’ Collins, who played just 10 games, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Another recently acquired guard, Rob Dillingham, is getting an extensive look amid all the changes and injuries in the backcourt. “I’ve got an opportunity here,” he told Poe of the Tribune (subscription required). “At least here I’m getting on the floor, you know? It’s up to me to perform to the best of my opportunity, and then from there it’ll keep growing and growing.” It’s been a struggle thus far for the former Timberwolves guard. He played 23 minutes against the Hornets but shot 2-for-9 from the field and committed three turnovers, compared to five assists. Through his first seven games as a Bull, Dillingham is averaging 7.6 points while shooting 39.2% from the floor and 18.2% on three-pointers.
So we got sweet talked into making a bad deal even worse due to Coby’s calf… yet still acquired two banged up guards in the process … only AK 😂😂
Epic, epic race to the bottom.
Seems like everyone of note gets an early vacation, while still getting paid.
The Bulls have a ten game losing streak. The Bull’s next sixteen games all will be difficult. This season has become a ‘throw away’ season, so what’s the difference at this point. Next season 2026-2027, the Bulls will have the most open cap space of all thirty teams.
Remainder of the season
Portland (L)
Bucks (L)
Thunder (L)
Suns (L)
Kings (W)
Warriors (L)
Lakers (L)
Clippers (L)
Grizzlies (W)
Raptors (L)
Cavs (L)
Rockets (L)
76ers (L)
Thunder (L)
Grizzlies (L)
Spurs (L)
Pacers (W)
Knicks (L)
Suns (L)
Wizards (L)
Wizards (W)
Magic (L)
Mavericks (L)
I see 4 wins rest of this season and a future top 7 pick which gives us a shot to draft either Nate Ament or Keaton Wagler. Both would address what we need which is shooting and shot creation more specifically in Wagler with unlimited range).
Agreed. Don’t see a game that the Bulls will win until April 1 against the Pacers.
This team needs to prioritize defense first. Sure they need a star asap, but if they fix their defense, then the rebuild will go so much faster imo. Lively in Dallas did the same thing before he got riddled with injuries. Anyways, it’s no need getting upset over the losses anymore. Fans just need to hope that management finally addresses what the team needs and not settle for more project players anymore. 😑🤦♂️. Conclusion: Continue to tank/Draft A Star and a defensive big. Rinse and repeat for next season until the roster is proven to be ready to compete.
That’s why we should have moved up and gotten CMB. He was known for his defense at South Carolina. Granted he’s only 6’7, but he played much bigger than that. He would have helped on the interior defense as well. I’m targeting Jayden Quaintance at 6’10 PF this June along with Hannes Steinbach 6’11 PF for size and potential to be defensive stallworths. Agreed with you that defense needs to get better in a hurry to compete long term. We just don’t know enough guys who take defense as their calling card or pride in playing defense as well. Sigh lol.
You make great points. I’ve been discussing a few options with other bulls fans about defensive upgrades. Watson and Kessler have been rumored to be a few targets. Kessler is injury prone, so I don’t think they should go after him. Watson on the other hand would be a good fit imo. He’s long and versatile enough to play the 2 or the 3. Buzelis is the biggest bright spot for the bulls, so if they add Watson to the roster, then they could potentially have a good tandem between those two players. So I’d like that idea for the bulls. Think about it, a starting lineup with Giddey, Watson and Matas..All three are 6 ft 8 and above. That could be a scary good trio for sure. 😮💨🙏
Honestly if there is any way we can get Claxton from Nets, I’d be up for it. His contract is descending the next few years. He would be a great lob guy with Giddey feeding him the ball. In terms of free agents, Watson will command a $70-90M deal. I’m not too keen on paying guys just yet when we don’t even have an established superstar on our roster. Watson is a player you add when you have firmly built your foundation and nucleus. Buzelis and Giddey will be fixtures here but they need another guy. I’m looking at the draft to see if they can get lucky or find a gem. Wagler for me would be the pick, they need another shot creator on the team. He’s 6’6 and has great size and unlimited range. Him and Giddey in the backcourt would be fun and Buzelis at the 3. The problem is we don’t have a 4 or 5 lmao. This free agency class is average at best. I think they’ll bottom out next year. They will choose either Sexton or Simons for their 6th man. I do think the head coach shouldn’t come back next year either. He’s not a coach who can guide you thru a rebuild. If we get lucky this year and say get Wagler with Giddey and Buzelis and then in 2027 get another pick before the huge 2027 free agents come out, that would be a great stepping stone for this floundering franchise.
The free agent class is good enough for us to add two quality starters. There are several young players available, including Watson and Eason. And there is no good reason to bring back either Simons or Sexton. Clayton would be fine but Jarrett Allen would be better, and Cleveland is thinking about trading him to save $$$.
Good point on Jarrett Allen. I had no idea they might look to move him in the offseason. $28M next year and it goes up to $32M by 2028-29.
I agree but I doubt the rockets will let Eason go for anything less than a frp..and imo the bulls shouldn’t entertain that. Either go after Watson, and look at cost effective targets or draft what the team needs. They need to seriously start building around Matas and Giddey..No more signing 4 or 5 players to compete for one position. No more project players either. Conclusion: Tank, Draft A Star, Build Team Needs. Rinse, Repeat.
Need Essengue to blossom as well. He’s a huge part of what they want to do, which is getting more athletic and explosive on the front line.
Yep. Great point. I think he will be fine. Fans just need to wait and see how he plays. He could be a good defender one day, kindve reminds me of Dyson Daniels a bit. But he’s bigger and I think he’s got more potential. Hopefully he unlocks it someday though. It can’t be another Pwill situation. 😑🤦♂️
Spurs got 2 unprotected first rounders from bad franchises for Bob Dillongham.
Mavs got 1 Unprotected first rounder (from the lakers) for Luka + AD
They got one unprotected pick in 2031 and a pick swap in 2030 from the Wolves, but yeah, that Luka deal is so bad it’s hard to believe the league wasn’t somehow involved in getting Luka to LA.
You can’t throw those deals in there. The league helped the mavs with that Luka deal, and the other deal was done by the the spurs, who imo are not far from winning a championship atp. So they didn’t need Rob. And if I’m not mistaken, I believe dillingham already had an agreement with the twolves, and that’s why the spurs traded him to Minnesota.
They traded for so many guards at the deadline, but why?
Send Dillingham to the GLeague at this point. With a gluttony of guards on the roster, there’s nothing he does that stands out. Right now he’s a project.
Dude is getting paid, but he’ll always be a project.
He has a $6.8M salary for next year. I think it’s safe to say that either he will be apart of a trade this offseason or they will not pickup his 4th year team option of $8,763,215M.
I agree, he needs to be sent to the G-League. That’s what I wish we would have done with him. That’s the best place for him to work on his skills IMO. Hopefully build up some confidence too. Then if he improves there, bring him back up. I do hope he gets better, he seems like a good kid. He’s just not ready right now.
Dillingham complaining that he didn’t see the floor is hilarious. He was the worst defensive guard in basketball when he did play, while shooting 33% from three and 69% from the free throw line. An assist to turnover ratio that, if qualified, would have ranked literally at the bottom of the league. Dead last.
The Bulls wanted the second round picks, pal. They’re giving you run because it helps their lottery odds. If they can’t dump you in the off-season on some stupid team, you’ll be riding the pine in Chicago too. Just a terrible NBA player.