Central Notes: Nance, Cunningham, Cavs, McClung
When the Bucks promoted forward Pete Nance to their 15-man roster, they dipped into their room exception to sign him to a new three-year, $5.81MM contract that exceeds a minimum deal in terms of both first-year salary and total years, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.
The Bucks used roughly $5.13MM of their room exception last summer to re-sign Kevin Porter Jr., and it has been prorating downward since January 10, but the team still had a portion of it left to put toward Nance’s contract.
Nance received a $600K salary for the rest of this season, well above his prorated minimum of $277,137. As a trade-off, the deal includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary ($2,497,812) for 2026/27, with a non-guaranteed minimum-salary team option ($2,707,612) for ’27/28.
Nance’s 2026/27 salary would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 4, 2026.
We have more from around the Central:
- In the wake of the NBPA issuing a statement criticizing the 65-game rule in support of Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, agent Jeff Schwartz added his voice to those arguing that his client doesn’t deserve to miss out on All-NBA recognition this season. “Cade has delivered a first-team All-NBA season,” Schwartz told ESPN’s Shams Charania. “If he falls just short of an arbitrary games-played threshold due to legitimate injury, it should not disqualify him from recognition he has clearly earned over the course of the season. The league should be rewarding excellence, not enforcing rigid cutoffs that ignore context. An exception needs to be made.” Cunningham, who was diagnosed last week with a collapsed lung, appears unlikely to make the five additional appearances necessary to meet the 65-game threshold.
- The Cavaliers beat Orlando on Tuesday for their fourth consecutive win, but head coach Kenny Atkinson expressed displeasure after the game with his defense, which surrendered 131 points in the victory, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I just told the team in the locker room, if we’re going to play defense like this, we’re going to have a short playoff stint,” Atkinson said. “… We’re the number one offensive team over the last (several) games. But there’s two sides of the ball. We’re tilted one way right now. … You have to be good on both ends. You got to be top 10 (on) offense and defense; it gives you the best chance. We’re not.” Atkinson added that the “guys who defend” will be the ones who are part of his rotation in the playoffs.
- One of just two players in NBA history to win three dunk contests, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung now holds another record. He’s the G League’s new all-time leading scorer across the regular season, Tip-Off Tournament, and postseason, having surpassed Renaldo Major‘s 5,299 total points, according to the league (Twitter link). Major still holds the NBAGL record for regular season points (5,058).
Injury Notes: Brooks, Williams, Ivey, Embiid, Shamet
The Suns could get a couple of starters back from injuries next week, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), who expects Dillon Brooks to return early in the team’s road trip and Mark Williams to be back later in the week. Phoenix’s road trip begins next Monday in Memphis and concludes the following Sunday at Chicago.
Brooks underwent surgery last month to repair a fractured left hand. The 30-year-old wing is four weeks removed from that injury, which was expected to sideline him around four-to-six weeks.
Williams, meanwhile, has been out since March 3 after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left foot. The 24-year-old center will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Bulls upgraded Jaden Ivey (left knee soreness) to questionable on Sunday before downgrading him to out. He’ll miss his 16th consecutive game Monday against Houston. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link), Ivey recently returned to practice but he banged knees with a teammate and will be seen by a doctor on Monday night. Head coach Billy Donovan previously said Ivey, an impending restricted free agent, would travel on Chicago’s four-game road trip; that’s now up in the air after his new injury.
- Sixers star Joel Embiid went through Monday’s shootaround and also did some individual work afterward, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. The veteran center, who is recovering from a right oblique strain, is expected to go through a more rigorous workout on Tuesday and will be reevaluated after that, Bodner adds. Monday marks Embiid’s 13th consecutive absence.
- Knicks wing Landry Shamet is out again Tuesday due to a tibial plateau contusion, also known as a bone bruise, in his right knee, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (All Twitter links). Shamet suffered the injury in Friday’s game at Brooklyn and sat out Sunday’s win over Washington. However, Bondy hears it isn’t serious and expects the veteran guard/forward to return “within a few games, if that.” Shamet has been a key reserve for New York this season, Bondy notes.
Bulls’ Anfernee Simons, Jaden Ivey Could Return Monday
Bulls guards Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey have been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s matchup with Houston, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network.
Simons has been out since February 21 after aggravating a left ulnar styloid fracture in his left wrist, which he originally sustained in training camp. Ivey, meanwhile, last played on Feb. 11. He has been battling left knee soreness; his official injury designation is patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as runner’s knee.
Ivey has been ramping up his activity over the past couple weeks, with head coach Billy Donovan recently stating that the pain in the 24-year-old’s knee is gone. Although he’s only made four appearances with Chicago after being acquired in a trade with Detroit ahead of February’s deadline, the Bulls have signaled they want to retain Ivey in restricted free agency.
Simons was originally expected to be out Monday, but it sounds like he could return to action after missing the last 13 games due to the wrist fracture. The 26-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Big man Jalen Smith (right calf strain injury management) is also questionable Monday for the Bulls, while Isaac Okoro (right patellofemoral pain syndrome) and Guerschon Yabusele (left ankle sprain) are doubtful to suit up.
Bulls Notes: Miller, Smith, Ball, Okoro, Donovan
Third-year forward Leonard Miller has been a bright spot for the Bulls over the past couple weeks, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The 22-year-old Torontonian rarely received playing time in his two-and-a-half seasons in Minnesota, but he’s getting an opportunity to showcase his abilities with Chicago.
Over his last six games, Miller is averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .533/.300/.872. The Bulls acquired him in the Ayo Dosunmu trade ahead of last month’s deadline.
“I mean, he’s got a really good motor. He’s good on the glass,” said head coach Billy Donovan. “I think, like any young player who did not really get a chance to play a lot early in his career … he’s got to get better in terms of the game plan and discipline, knowing the league, knowing who he’s guarding, those kinds of things.
“But I think he shoots the ball fairly well. He can put it on the floor some. I think he can be a very, very promising guy for us. I think what he’s done to this point in time, in a short period of time (of) getting the opportunity to play, he’s taking full advantage of it.”
The Bulls hold a $2.4MM team option on Miller for 2026/27. If they decline the option, he would be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
Here’s more from Chicago:
- Big man Jalen Smith was disappointed in the Bulls’ effort following Wednesday’s loss to Toronto, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “We had no fight,” Smith said. “This is the third time we’ve played them and we’ve gotten punked. At the end of the day we just got to want it. We’ve got to have that fight and we have to have that grit. I honestly couldn’t tell you [why], it’s basketball so every day isn’t going to be perfect, but we’ve got to figure out what else can we do to impact the game. It’s just a mental game right now for us.”
- With the Cavs visiting on Thursday, Donovan reflected on last summer’s trade that sent Lonzo Ball to Cleveland and Isaac Okoro to Chicago, per Cowley. Donovan has been pleased with Okoro’s play and team-first attitude, but feels empathy for Ball, who is an unrestricted free agent after he was salary-dumped to Utah and subsequently waived by the Jazz. “I loved him as a player and a guy, and he was so cerebral,” Donovan said of Ball, who missed nearly three calendar years with a knee injury. “He was so selfless, that’s really one of the things I admired. To see him have to go through what he went through, to fight to get back, see what he’s going through now, that’s tough for me because it’s almost like what could have been, how good could he have been?“
- Dosunmu said on Tuesday that mid-range shots were “really prohibited” during his time with the Bulls, but Donovan pushed back on that notion, as Cowley writes in another story. Donovan pointed out that DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic all took a good amount of mid-range jumpers while Dosunmu was on the team. “I think you have to play to players’ strengths, so I’m a believer in the first part of the shot clock you certainly want to try and get something downhill to the basket, and generally what happens is when the ball gets into the paint and the ball gets sprayed out that’s when the threes are going to go up,” Donovan said in part. “Most of the time the mid-range stuff is coming off (isolation) situations. It’s late clock, a guy is stuck with the ball, and at that time you’ve got to manufacture and generate shots.”
With Knee Pain Gone, Jaden Ivey May Be Close To Returning
- Coach Billy Donovan plans to have Jaden Ivey accompany the team on its upcoming road trip in hopes that he can return to action, relays Bulls reporter Will Gottlieb (Twitter link). Ivey hasn’t played since February 11, but Donovan said the pain in his left knee is gone.
Bulls Notes: Dillingham, Ivey, McClung, Essengue
Former Timberwolves lottery pick Rob Dillingham continues to settle in with his new team, the Bulls. In his last three games, Dillingham has averaged 13 points and five assists while shooting 6-of-15 (40%) from three-point range, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes.
Dillingham has received steady playing time after getting traded last month, unlike his experience with Minnesota.
“I’m just thankful for Coach (Billy Donovan), honestly,” Dillingham said. “Giving me that leash, it’s like I’m renewed. I’ve been able to play freely. My mental when I’ve been out on the court has been bad like for the last couple months, so I’m just thankful that I’m able to play, able to add confidence, able to help us win, and really, I’m just thankful to learn and keep growing.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Another trade deadline acquisition, Jaden Ivey, will be a restricted free agent after the season if the Bulls issue a qualifying offer. Though he’s only played four games with Chicago due to left knee soreness, the organization continues to signal that it intends to retain him, Cowley reports. “The unfortunate part was that when he got here, you’re dealing with him coming into a completely new situation after the trade deadline and then trying to get acclimated,” Donovan said. “I mean, the intention when [made the trade] is this could be somebody that would be here for a while. How all this plays out with the contract in July and the free agency part of it, understanding he’s restricted, I don’t know. But our intention organizationally was, this is a guy we feel could be a very, very good player, and this guy’s got a pretty long runway of being somewhat youthful and young.” Ivey, currently sidelined, will be reevaluated next week.
- Mac McClung has been thriving in the NBA G League with the Windy City Bulls. Under a two-way contract with Chicago, the three-time dunk champion was named the G League’s Player of the Week (March 9-15) by averaging 38.3 points and 12.3 assists in three games, according to the league office (Twitter link). McClung was recognized as the G League’s Player of the Month for February.
- Rookie Noa Essengue was declared out for the season in early December due to a shoulder injury. However, he’s still working diligently on his comeback. Essengue was shooting and undergoing a full, non-contact workout after Bulls practice on Tuesday, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweets.
Bulls Announce Injury Updates On Simons, Ivey
Anfernee Simons, who was scheduled to visit a hand specialist, was recently reevaluated. While the 26-year-old is “making progress” in his recovery from a left wrist fracture, his return isn’t imminent — he’ll be checked out again in 10 days, the Bulls announced in a press release (Twitter link).
Head coach Billy Donovan said Simons was able to take some shots during the Bulls’ shootaround last Tuesday. However, the 26-year-old was still experiencing pain at the time, particularly when catching and dribbling the ball.
Simons has missed Chicago’s last 10 games after he aggravated the fracture on February 21. The 6’3″ combo guard originally sustained the injury in training camp with Boston, but managed to play most of the season before re-injuring it three-plus weeks ago.
Based on today’s update, Simons will be out at least four more games. He’ll likely be reevaluated either before or after next Wednesday’s contest at Philadelphia.
The Bulls also issued an update on another injured guard, Jaden Ivey, who has been battling left knee soreness. According to the team, Ivey “continues to make progress” in his rehabilitation program and will be reevaluated in one week.
Ivey last played on February 11, Chicago’s final game before the All-Star break. He has missed the team’s last 12 contests and will be out at least three more, with another update likely to come next Monday, when the Bulls host Houston.
Ivey reportedly worked out with Chicago’s G League affiliate over the weekend. The Bulls have been focused on building strength back in his left knee, which he fractured on Jan. 1, 2025.
Simons will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, while Ivey will be a restricted free agent if the Bulls give him a qualifying offer.
Bulls Notes: Ivey, Williams, Giddey, Buzelis
The Bulls aren’t certain if Jaden Ivey will be able to play again this season, but he’s making progress in that direction, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes in a subscriber-only story. The fourth-year guard recently took part in a workout with the team’s G League affiliate, and sources tell Cowley that he may participate in a session with the NBA team on Sunday. Coach Billy Donovan has discussed the situation with members of the medical team, who remain hopeful about Ivey’s long-term outlook.
“I think I have a pretty good feel for him as a player when he’s healthy,” Donovan said. “He was really explosive, downhill, two-way player, can defend, really improved his shooting. The biggest thing I would want to know from our medical guys, and I have talked a little bit about this is, ‘OK, does a summer really bring his strength back?’ That would be my biggest thing. Our medical guys, when I’ve spoken to them, they feel really, really optimistic and positive that he will regain that strength, but strength doesn’t necessarily come back just like that. It’s going to take a period of time.”
Ivey was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline, but he only appeared in four games before being sidelined by a troublesome left knee. He remained in Chicago for treatment during the team’s just-completed 10-day road trip. Ivey will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Bulls extend a qualifying offer, and they would like to see him in action some more before making that decision.
“I think a lot of it is going to be predicated on where his strength is at,” Donovan said of a potential return. “The improvement and growth he’s made in the strength area.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Patrick Williams was able to return Friday after missing six of the previous seven games with a sprained left ankle, Cowley adds. Jalen Smith, who has been dealing with a calf strain, was held out on the second night of a back-to-back.
- Josh Giddey recorded his 29th career triple-double on Friday, surpassing franchise legend Michael Jordan on the Bulls’ all-time list, Cowley states in a separate story. “Anytime your name is mentioned with people like that, obviously it’s the upper, upper echelon of players, so it’s pretty special and surreal,” Giddey said. “But I guess the game has changed and triple-doubles might not be what they are today, but anytime your name is mentioned with greats like that, it’s always an honor and I don’t take it for granted.”
- Matas Buzelis has become a more reliable scorer since the All-Star break, punctuated by a career-high 41-point night in Tuesday’s win at Golden State, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required). It’s an encouraging sign from the second-year forward, who’s viewed as an important part of the team’s future. “I try to come out aggressive every game,” Buzelis said. “Good things will happen if you put in the work and you believe in yourself. But you have to put the work in. If you don’t, you’re just cheating yourself.”
Bulls Notes: Tanking, Okoro, Miller, Essengue
The Bulls aren’t winning very often, but they still aren’t tanking and that isn’t likely to change, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes in a subscriber-only story. Thursday’s loss to the Lakers left Chicago at 27-39, which is the league’s ninth-worst record and only a half-game away from Milwaukee in the lottery race. Coach Billy Donovan said he hasn’t received any directive from executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to stop playing his best lineups and he doesn’t expect to.
“If we get to a place where we are mathematically out of anything as it relates to postseason and there are guys that are dealing with some ailments or have challenges health-wise, could they say, ‘Hey, let’s get these guys right first’? I don’t know,” Donovan said. “Everything I got from them up to this point in time is to continue to put our best foot forward.”
As Cowley notes, it’s been hard to get a read on the new roster since the trade deadline upheaval because of injuries. Donovan and the front office would like to get a better look at Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey before they become free agents this summer, but Simons is sidelined with a wrist fracture and Ivey is dealing with lingering soreness in his left knee. The team announced today that Ivey will practice with its G League affiliate, so he could be nearing a return.
“The Anfernee thing has made it tough to evaluate him, but he does have a large body of work, and so does Collin (Sexton),” Donovan said. “Rob (Dillingham) would be a guy that you can really, really take a look at. The Jaden situation has been unfortunate because he played four games and now he’s out, he’s trying to rehab, but everything I’ve gotten from (the front office) is go out there and help these guys be as competitive and successful as they can be, and put the focus on winning, and I think that’s the same thing as ownership.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Isaac Okoro sat out Thursday’s game after being a late scratch Tuesday at Golden State with a knee issue, Cowley adds. “He’s had it before,” Donovan said. “It’s probably going to take a little bit of time to make it calm down. Generally, he starts to feel better each day that goes by. I don’t think it’s a long-term thing or anything like that. He’s just got some inflammation there that they need to calm down.”
- Leonard Miller, who was acquired from Minnesota at the deadline, made his third start Thursday since joining the Bulls and continues to put up impressive numbers. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes after posting 17 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes on Tuesday. Chicago holds a $2.4MM team option on Miller for next season, and Cowley suggests in a separate story that it might be a good idea to keep him in his current role when Patrick Williams recovers from an ankle injury. “I’m always ready to go out there and compete at a high level,” Miller said. “I think I demonstrated that and that’s what I’m going to continue to demonstrate. Me playing at a high level and having a good game, I’m kind of not surprised because I have that belief in myself, I’m confident, and I feel like the sky is the limit with me.”
- Noa Essengue has been cleared for non-contact basketball activities and is considering playing in Summer League, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Essengue, the 12th pick in last year’s draft, only appeared in two games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. “It’s been a tough year,” he said. “But that’s a goal in life, to always stay positive. It doesn’t matter what happens, whether you’re playing good or bad, you have an injury or are healthy, you stay positive and keep working. That’s what I’ve done.”
Bulls’ Simons Out At Least Two More Games Due To Wrist Fracture
Combo guard Anfernee Simons will visit a hand specialist after the Bulls finish their ongoing road trip, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Bulls face the Clippers on Thursday and the Lakers on Friday before returning to Chicago ahead of Monday’s home game vs. Memphis.
Head coach Billy Donovan said Simons was able to take some shots during the Bulls’ shootaround on Tuesday. However, the 26-year-old is still experiencing pain, particularly when catching and dribbling the ball, Cowley writes.
Simons, who was acquired ahead of the deadline in a trade with Boston, appeared in six games with Chicago prior to aggravating an ulnar styroid fracture in his left wrist on February 21. He originally sustained the injury during training camp with the Celtics.
Donovan said a couple weeks ago that surgery wasn’t being considered for Simons. At the time, he suggested it might be an option once the season ends if the fracture was still causing Simons problems. The former first-round pick has missed Chicago’s last eight games because of the injury and will be out for at least two more.
Simons, who is earning $27.7MM in the final season of his contract, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign a veteran extension before then. In 55 total games this season (24.9 minutes per contest), he has averaged 14.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists on .440/.385/.896 shooting splits.