Bulls Rumors: LaVine, Donovan, DeRozan, Caruso, Lakers, More
The Bulls and Zach LaVine are reportedly increasingly open to exploring a trade involving the two-time All-Star. When asked about that report this week, LaVine was evasive and didn’t deny that he might be open to a change of scenery.
One report stated that LaVine was still upset about being benched by head coach Billy Donovan late in a game last year in which he shot 1-of-14 from the field. When Donovan was asked about the recent LaVine rumors, he said the team’s shooting guard has “always been coachable” and that he visited LaVine twice in Los Angeles in the offseason.
“He’s always been been very welcoming when I’ve come out there,” Donovan said, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “We’ve always had really good conversations. He’s always responsive to text messages and phone calls. So I haven’t seen anything where it’s like, ‘OK, this guy has really pushed himself all the way over here and he’s just totally disconnected from everybody. I have not seen that at all.
“I would think that if there’s anything he’d want to talk to a teammate about or a coach about or me about that he as a man would come up and do that. I do think our conversations have been very open and honest. And I think he has worked hard at the relationship just as I have.”
According to Johnson, Donovan also said he’s in constant contact with Bulls lead basketball executive Arturas Karnisovas, and suggested that nothing is imminent on the trade front. That makes sense, given that most free agents who signed new deals over the summer aren’t trade-eligible until December 15 or January 15.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The Lakers have been linked to LaVine multiple times over the years, including recently. Jovan Buha of The Athletic confirms that L.A. would be interested in the 28-year-old, but only if the price is right. Buha says LaVine’s pricey long-term contract — he’s in the second season of a five-year, maximum-salary deal — is the Lakers’ primary concern. The Lakers also don’t have interest in trading Austin Reaves in a potential LaVine deal, Buha reports.
- Of course, as Buha writes, there are several impediments to a trade possibly coming together. The Lakers can only offer one first-round pick and one pick swap, and the players they could use as salary-matching pieces aren’t eligible to be traded until the aforementioned Dec. and Jan. dates. LaVine also might not be an ideal fit for the Lakers’ roster.
- Chicago is now 4-8 after losing Wednesday’s game to Orlando. If the Bulls pivot to a rebuild in the next few months, multiple sources tell Buha that the Lakers would also be interested in DeMar DeRozan and/or Alex Caruso, and suggests those players would be a higher priority for Los Angeles. Kurt Helin of NBC Sports hears several teams monitoring the Bulls’ situation would be more interested in DeRozan ($28.6MM expiring contract) and Caruso ($19.4MM over the next two seasons) than LaVine.
- Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports that, despite the increasing trade chatter and the team’s poor overall play, the Bulls have had no interest in dealing Caruso in the past and there’s no sign that has changed (Twitter link).
- Danny Chau of The Ringer examines LaVine’s trade value and comes up with five trades that might make sense. In addition to the Lakers and Heat, who have been previously linked to LaVine, Chau comes up with hypothetical trades sending LaVine to the Warriors, Raptors and Pacers.
Xavier Moon Signs Two-Way Deal With Clippers
The Clippers have signed free agent guard Xavier Moon to a two-way contract, the team announced on Wednesday. Moon will fill the two-way spot previously held by Joshua Primo, who was promoted to the standard roster.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported nine days ago that the two moves would be coming. The Clippers took their time to save some money — their luxury tax bill is massive.
Moon, who played in a handful of non-NBA leagues from 2017-21 after going undrafted out of Morehead State, has spent parts of the last two years with the Clippers, finishing the 2022/23 season on a two-way contract with the club. He has appeared in 14 total games for Los Angeles, averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 assists in 11.2 minutes per night.
The 28-year-old played for the Ontario Clippers – L.A.’s G League affiliate – for most of last season, putting up 20.1 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 3.9 RPG with a shooting line of .523/.389/.824 in 48 total regular season and Showcase Cup games (31.0 MPG). The performance earned him a spot on the All-NBAGL Third Team. He was also named to the All-Summer League Second Team in July.
In three Showcase Cup games (25.5 MPG) with Ontario in ’23/24, the 6’2″ guard has averaged 12.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.3 SPG on .412/.250/1.000 shooting. It seems likely that he will continue to spend much of his time in the G League, but he’ll receive a raise due to his new contract.
The Clippers’ 18-man roster will be full once Daniel Theis clears waivers and officially signs with L.A.
Clippers Notes: George, Lue, Harden, Tax
The Clippers now hold a 3-7 record after losing their sixth straight game, including five with James Harden in the lineup. As ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes, Tuesday’s contest in Denver went down to the wire, but L.A. was unable to secure the victory after being up seven with six minutes remaining.
Still, star forward Paul George thinks the team is close to a breakthrough.
“I thought we played great,” George said. “It’s tough, the adversity of playing against the extra three [officials]. I thought they were awful. But, [against the] defending champs, we got to play better. There’s a lot to be positive about. I’m not one for moral victories, but I thought we showed more of a sign of a team tonight that’s close to getting it over the hump.”
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Speaking to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report after the loss to the Nuggets, Tyronn Lue said adjusting on the fly after acquiring Harden has been difficult. “This is my toughest challenge as a head coach, but I’m up for the task for sure,” Lue said. “The biggest thing is getting these guys to sacrifice for guys, whether that’s starting the game, finishing the game, shots, touches, who’s running pick-and-rolls, and things like that. Getting these guys to sacrifice will be the biggest challenge all season.”
- According to Haynes, George reiterated that he’s confident the group will figure it out, despite the rocky start. “We’re all honoring this adjustment. We have to sacrifice. We understand it. Simple as that. No one is going against that. Nobody is frustrated about it,” George told Bleacher Report. “We know what we have. There’s one ball, and there’s four good motherf–kers. And we understand that and embrace it. We want to make each other better, and I don’t think one person is complaining one bit about it.”
- Harden, who told Haynes he’s still working his way into game shape after being absent for most of Philadelphia’s training camp, is also confident the Clips will turn things around. “When we figure this out, it’s going to be scary,” Harden said. “We’re getting there. We’ll let others talk, and we’ll put the work in. It’s going to take some time, and that’s OK.”
- Promoting Joshua Primo and signing Daniel Theis (once he clears waivers) will push the Clippers’ payroll past $200MM — L.A. will join the Warriors as the only two teams to ever exceed that figure, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). L.A.’s luxury tax bill will sit at $142.3MM once Theis is officially a Clipper, Marks adds.
Kings’ De’Aaron Fox Cleared To Return
7:40pm: Fox will play on Monday night vs. Cleveland, per Charania and Amick (Twitter link). He won’t be on a minutes restriction, head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).
1:54pm: Kings star De’Aaron Fox could return to action as soon as Monday’s contest vs. Cleveland or Wednesday’s game against the Lakers, sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Fox, who has missed the past five games due to a right ankle sprain, was a full participant during Monday’s shootaround, tweets Sean Cunningham of Fox 40.
The 25-year-old is coming off a stellar 2022/23 campaign in which he earned his first All-Star and All-NBA appearances. Sacramento broke its record-long playoff drought last season, finishing 48-34 and entering the postseason as the West’s No. 3 seed. The team ultimately lost its first-round series against Golden State in seven games.
Fox was off to an outstanding start in ’23/24, averaging 31.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.3 SPG on .486/.375/.810 shooting through three games (35.3 MPG). The Kings went 2-1 with him in the starting lineup and currently hold a 4-4 record.
Injury Notes: Vanderbilt, Beal, Magic, Nets
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been cleared by team doctors to begin a return to play progression, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Vanderbilt, 24, has yet to make his 2023/24 regular season debut, missing all 10 of the Lakers’ games due to left heel bursitis. Since he’s been sidelined for several weeks and has been dealing with a foot injury, it might take him some time to ramp up his conditioning.
Still, it’s obviously a positive update for both Vanderbilt and the team. The Lakers’ defense is currently ranked 22nd in the league, and having one of their top defenders nearing a return should help with that figure.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Suns guard Bradley Beal missed Phoenix’s first seven games with a lower back injury, which he tweaked during Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma City, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Beal said his back was “a little tight” throughout the game and he needs to be “smart moving forward” after choosing to play the second half despite being less than 100 percent. “We’ve been trending in the right direction,” Beal said. “This is probably the first day we’ve had, I don’t want to say a setback, but where it’s gotten tight throughout the course of a game. It’s just evaluating that seeing how; recovery is always the biggest question. How I feel afterward. See how I feel (Sunday night), in the morning and hopefully I don’t feel like I got hit by a bus and I’ll be good to go come Wednesday.”
- Magic guards Gary Harris and Markelle Fultz will be sidelined Tuesday in Brooklyn, but they’re traveling with the team on Orlando’s four-game road trip, according to Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com (Twitter link). It will be the fifth straight absence for Harris, who is battling a right groin strain, while Fultz is dealing with left knee soreness.
- Nets center Nic Claxton had a strong performance in Sunday’s victory over Washington, notes Dan Martin of The New York Post. Claxton, who had missed the past eight games with a high left ankle sprain, finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 28 minutes.
- Unfortunately, Lonnie Walker aggravated a left knee injury on Sunday, Martin adds, but the Nets guard sounds determined to play through it. “I’ll be ready for the next game,” said Walker. “If my leg’s not broken, I’m gonna keep playing. We’ll see how it goes [Monday]. … It’s a lot of pain. I’ve been playing through it.” Walker is officially questionable for Tuesday’s game with a left knee contusion, while Ben Simmons will miss his fourth straight game with a left hip contusion, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid Named Players Of The Week
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (Western Conference) and Sixers center Joel Embiid (East) have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter).
It’s the first player of the week award for Edwards, according to a Wolves press release. He helped lead Minnesota to a 4-0 record after averaging 31.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.0 steals (36.5 minutes). The Wolves are currently 7-2, a half-game out of first place in the West.
Embiid, who helped lead Philadelphia to its own undefeated week at 4-0, averaged 36.3 points, 12.5 boards, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in his four appearances (34.2 minutes). The 76ers have the best record in the NBA at 8-1 and have now had the East’s player of the week twice in the season’s first 21 days — Tyrese Maxey won the award in week one.
According to the NBA (Twitter links), the other nominees in the West were Anthony Davis, Cam Reddish, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jerami Grant, Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun, while Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Caris LeVert, Mark Williams, and Maxey were nominated in the East.
Bulls Notes: Dosunmu, Caruso, Lillard, Craig, Trade Values
Third-year guard Ayo Dosunmu gave the Bulls a much-needed lift during Sunday’s victory over Detroit, according to Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times. After a sluggish first quarter that saw the Bulls down nine points, Dosunmu helped swing the momentum in their favor in the second period, spearheading a 22-4 run with his energy and defense.
“First thing I told him coming out was, ‘That quarter was because of you,’” forward DeMar DeRozan said. “The energy he brought, getting out in transition, the layups and getting those steals. I let him know that without him, that quarter would not have happened.”
Dosunmu finished with 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), three assists and three steals and was a game-high plus-19 in 27 minutes on the court, which was a season high. As Williams writes, Dosunmu also helped limit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham — Detroit’s leading scorer — to just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
“I closed with [Dosunmu] today,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “You could have closed with Torrey [Craig]; you could have closed with Patrick [Williams]. I just elected to go with him because I thought he was playing really well on both ends of the floor. He was playing well defensively, in particular guarding Cunningham.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Alex Caruso, who missed Sunday’s game, is considered day-to-day due to a toe injury he sustained in practice, Williams adds in another story. As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets, Caruso is doubtful for Monday’s contest vs. Milwaukee, while Bucks star Damian Lillard, who has missed the past two games with calf soreness, is probable.
- Pistons head coach Monty Williams spoke glowingly of Craig prior to Sunday’s matchup, Kyle Williams of The Sun-Times notes. Craig, who signed with Chicago as a free agent in the offseason, played under Monty Williams in Phoenix. “He’s just an everyday guy and has a great attitude,” he said of Craig. “You could coach him; you could talk to him about other stuff outside of basketball. He just became one of my favorite players. You can play him at any wing spot, and you can play a number of defenses with him, whether it’s switching, zone or man coverage.”
- After 10 games, the Bulls sit at 4-6. That prompted Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic to list 10 observations from the early portion of the 2023/24 season. After the team brought back most of the same group, many of the same issues from last season are still present, according to Mayberry, including a sluggish offense and the poor fit of Chicago’s “big three.” Jevon Carter, who signed with his hometown team as a free agent over the summer, has been a bright spot. But the Bulls need to shake things up and trades should be coming at some point, says Mayberry.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype projects the trade values of DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and Caruso, writing that Caruso might fetch the most in return due to his “elite defense” and “relatively small annual salary.” Caruso is under contract for $19.4MM over the next two seasons.
Jamaree Bouyea Signs Two-Way Contract With Trail Blazers
NOVEMBER 12: Bouyea’s two-way contract and Mays’ promotion to the standard roster are now official, Portland has confirmed in a pair of press releases.
NOVEMBER 11: The Trail Blazers plan to sign free agent guard Jamaree Bouyea to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). Portland is creating a two-way opening for Bouyea by converting Skylar Mays to a standard deal.
A 6’2″ point guard who went undrafted in 2022 out of San Francisco, Bouyea signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Miami last summer and was waived before the 2022/23 season started. Although he spent most of his rookie season in the G League, he did play five NBA games for the Heat and Wizards while on 10-day contracts, averaging 3.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG and 0.8 SPG in 14.2 MPG.
The 24-year-old had a major role for the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami’s affiliate) last season, averaging 17.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .527/.321/.709 shooting across 38 Showcase Cup and regular season contests (35.0 MPG). Bouyea signed a two-way deal with the Heat this summer, but was waived a couple months later, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Portland’s 18-man roster will be full once Mays is promoted and Bouyea is signed.
Scoot Henderson To Miss 2-3 More Weeks With Ankle Injury
NOVEMBER 11: The Trail Blazers announced in a press release that Henderson will miss another two or three weeks while the bruising heals.
NOVEMBER 10: Trail Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick of this year’s draft, is expected to miss a couple more weeks due to a right ankle bone bruise, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
As Charania notes, Henderson sprained his ankle on Nov. 1 against Detroit and has been sidelined ever since, missing the past three games with the injury.
If he returns in exactly two weeks, the 19-year-old will have missed 10 games — the Blazers play seven times over the next 14 days.
It’s normal for rookies — especially teenagers — to have slow starts to their NBA careers, and that certainly has been the case for Henderson.
Through five games (28.8 minutes), he’s averaging 8.8 points and 2.2 rebounds on a .346/.095/.857 shooting line, with nearly as many turnovers per game (4.0) as assists (4.6).
With guards Henderson, Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring strain) and Anfernee Simons (thumb surgery) all sidelined, head coach Chauncey Billups gave Skylar Mays extended run in Wednesday’s overtime loss to Sacramento and he played well, posting 18 points (on 8-of-15 shooting) and 11 assists in 37 minutes.
Mays, a former second-round pick, is on a two-way contract with Portland.
Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Flynn, Oubre
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is generating early buzz for Defensive Player of the Year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link).
As Popper writes, the 25-year-old effectively stymied No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama on national TV earlier this week, with the French phenom going 0-of-6 with Robinson as his closest defender. Robinson also made a strong national impression in last season’s playoffs, dominating the paint in New York’s first-round series against the Cavs, who feature a “heavily hyped” two-big lineup.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau is always eager to discuss how well Robinson has been playing, specifically pointing to his net rating, Popper adds. The Knicks are plus-7.6 when Robinson is on the court vs. minus-1.3 when he’s off, for a net rating differential of plus-8.9 — the second-best mark on the team among rotation regulars.
“His defense is incredible,” Thibodeau said. “Excellent pick-and-roll defender. Rim protection. Defensive rebounding. Multiple effort guy. Really come a long way.
“It’s been steady growth. I think when you look at it, to me, probably the most important statistic there is net rating. Scoring margin, net rating tells you impact on winning. So when you look at where he was four years ago to where he is today, it’s been great strides that have been made, and the impact on winning is the most important thing.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Payton Pritchard signed a four-year, $30MM rookie scale extension just before the season started. The Celtics guard has been struggling to make shots early on in 2023/24, but head coach Joe Mazzulla assured him that he’ll continue to receive minutes as long as he’s impacting the game in other ways, and Pritchard finally had a breakthrough performance in Friday’s win against Brooklyn, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He’s found a way to make a big impact the whole year, and to me, he changed the game for us tonight,” Mazzulla said. “And what we see is, like, it’s easy to look at the scoring of the bench and be like, ‘We’re not producing.’ But there’s so much other stuff that those guys do for us on a daily basis.”
- Backup point guard Malachi Flynn struggled to find minutes under former head coach Nick Nurse, but that has changed under Darko Rajakovic, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Flynn, who could be a restricted free agent in 2024 if the Raptors give him qualifying offer, admits he was pressing his first handful of games as a rotation regular, but Rajakovic’s patience in him appears to be paying off, Grange notes. “I think the first couple of games I was still kind of like hesitant, not being assertive,” Flynn said. “But I feel like the last maybe three or four games — and not even going off makes or misses, just going off how I’m feeling and how I’m playing — I think I’m a lot more comfortable and playing confident.”
- Sixers wing Kelly Oubre made a strong defensive impression in last night’s win over Detroit, limiting Cade Cunningham to a subpar second half after he started the game strong, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “That’s what I bring to the game,” Oubre said of his defense. “That’s my bread and butter, so just trying to impact the game, and Cade definitely got off to a good start. I started on Ausar [Thompson], but Coach made that change to start the second half. Me guarding Cade and just wanted to pick him up full court, kind of make him uncomfortable a little bit because he’s such a talented player.” Oubre will be a free agent again next summer after signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the 76ers.