- After sharing some candid thoughts on Tuesday about his recent benching, Rajon Rondo returned to the court for the Bulls later in the night, playing for the first time in 2017. As K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports, Rondo played well enough that head coach Fred Hoiberg said he expected the point guard to remain in the rotation going forward — for now, at least.
Rajon Rondo, whose status with the team remains unclear, said a member of the Bulls’ coaching staff told him that the team was trying to “save him from himself,” as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relays (series of Twitter links). Rondo was told that he was playing poorly during a game against the Pacers—the one where he was initially benched—and that was a major reason why the team took action.
“Save me from myself,” Rondo lamented. “I never heard that before in my life. But I guess he was trying to do the best thing for me.”
Rondo added that he didn’t appreciate the team’s comments. Rondo was asked if he and coach Fred Hoiberg have spoken much about the situation. “Um. How can I say this? No,” Rondo said. “We speak. Cordial. Nothing much to say.”
A member of Chicago’s public relation staff attempted to end the media session midway through the interview, but Rondo said he would like to continue, as Johnson passes along (additional series of Twitter links). “I haven’t had this much attention in awhile,” Rondo said.
Rondo added that when he signed with Chicago, he envisioned things going differently and called the situation the most confusing of his career. He’s played in 29 games for the Bulls this season, posting the lowest points and minutes totals since his rookie season.
Rondo is playing tonight for the first time since being benched late last month. The point guard hasn’t seen NBA action in nearly two weeks, but said he’s been trying to stay in shape by playing pick-up games at a local middle school. He’ll be the team’s sixth man while Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler are absent from the lineup.
Taj Gibson is in the final year of his contract with the Bulls, which means there’s a good chance he’ll be involved in trade rumors in the coming weeks. However, having been the subject of trade speculation in the past, Gibson knows how to deal with it, and isn’t concerned about it, as Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun details.
“I’m just numb to (the talk) because I get good feedback from my agent all the time, so I’m never really worried about what’s going on,” Gibson said on Saturday before the Bulls faced the Raptors. “Normally when you are in trade rumors, it means the other team wants you too, so it’s like half and half. It’s part of our business.”
Here are the D-League assignments and recalls from Sunday:
10:20pm:
- The Spurs moved guard Dejounte Murray to the Austin Spurs of the D-League, the team announced on its website. The rookie guard has appeared in 19 games for San Antonio, averaging 2.3 points in 5.5 minutes.
- The Mavs announced via press release that they have assigned center A.J. Hammons and guard-forward Nicolas Brussino to their D-League affiliate. Hammons has appeared in 17 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.5 minutes. Brussino has played in 27 games for Dallas this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.8 minutes.
- The Nuggets recalled rookie guard Malik Beasley, Denver announced in a press release.
12:18pm:
- The Sixers have recalled forward Richaun Holmes from their Delaware affiliate, the team announced in a press release. He had 10 points and eight rebounds in the 87ers’ win Saturday.
- The Knicks have recalled Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee from their Westchester affiliate, the team tweeted.
- The Bulls have recalled forward Paul Zipser from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced via press release. Zipser had played in the D-League team’s last two games, averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
- The Celtics have assigned guard Demetrius Jackson to their affiliate in Maine, the team tweeted.
- The Rockets have assigned forward Kyle Wiltjer to their affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, according to a tweet from the team.
Arthur Hill contributed to this report.
Here are the D-League assignments and recalls from Saturday:
10:11pm:
- The Bulls have recalled forward Bobby Portis from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Portis had 32 points and nine rebounds in Friday’s game.
- The Spurs have recalled rookie guard Dejounte Murray from their affiliate in Austin, the team posted on its website. Murray is coming off a 25-point performance Friday and is averaging 16.6 points per game in 12 D-League contests. He has played 18 games for San Antonio, getting 5.6 minutes per night.
- The Pacers have recalled Georges Niang from their Fort Wayne affiliate, according to the team’s website. He connected on five 3-pointers and scored 23 points in his last game for the Mad Ants.
2:07pm:
- The Suns have recalled Derrick Jones Jr., according to a team-issued press release. Jones comes off of his fourth assignment to the club’s D-League affiliate this season.
- The Lakers have assigned center Ivica Zubac to the D-League, reports Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times via a team press release. Zubac has already played 11 games for the team’s affiliate, averaging 15.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
- The Nuggets have recalled Juan Hernangomez from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Hernangomez appeared in just one game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
11:30am:
- The Sixers have reassigned Richaun Holmes to their D-League affiliate, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Holmes, who hasn’t played since mid-December, was recalled from the Delaware 87ers on Thursday morning.
- The Thunder have recalled guard Cameron Payne, the team announced on Twitter. The second year man will look to make his season debut after missing the first two months with a broken foot.
- Sources with knowledge of the situation have emphatically denied that the Bulls have made Jimmy Butler available, despite recent speculation to the contrary, Stein reports.
[SOURCE LINK]
- Former teammate of LeBron James and current Bulls guard, Dwyane Wade spoke with Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago regarding the Korver deal. “You want the politically correct answer, or the other one? The rich getting richer,” said Wade of the Cavaliers.
Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
9:24pm:
- The Magic have recalled guard C.J. Wilcox, the team announced via press release. Wilcox has appeared in four games with the Erie BayHawks this season, averaging 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
9:01pm:
- The Rockets have sent Kyle Wiltjer to their D-League affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Wiltjer has seen action in nine games for Houston this season, most recently on December 30.
8:07pm:
- The Hawks have recalled Taurean Prince and Mike Scott, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the pair will join the team in Dallas.
6:00pm:
- The Hornets have reassigned Christian Wood to their D-League affiliate, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Wood as played just one game with the big league club, back on November 7.
3:32pm:
- The Knicks assigned Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee to their D-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Both players will be able for tonight’s game.
- The Bulls have assigned Bobby Portis and Paul Zipser to the Windy City Bulls, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
- The Spurs have assigned Dejounte Murray to their D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. Murray is averaging 15.8 points and 6.8 assists in 34.2 minutes per contest during 11 games Austin this season.
- With circumstances grim in Chicago, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer speculates that the volatile situation could soon erupt. O’Connor explores some of the decisions the Bulls have made in the last year, including their decision to entertain trade offers for Jimmy Butler last summer. Fortunately, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times, players on the team have become immune to front office dysfunction.
After being removed from his starting point guard role, Rajon Rondo met with Bulls executives Gar Forman and John Paxson over the weekend, and tells Nick Friedell of ESPN.com that the meeting “went OK.” However, as Friedell details, Rondo also said that there “really wasn’t a clear-cut message” from the front office, and said that he expects to talk to Forman and Paxson again at some point.
Rondo didn’t get into specifics about the meeting or about what’s next for him — when asked whether the Bulls’ front office is open to accommodating a trade, the veteran point guard said he’d leave that talk for his agent and Bulls management.
Here’s more on Rondo, along with some other Bulls notes:
- Dwyane Wade weighed in on his teammate’s benching, suggesting that Rondo has “handled it great” (link via Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com). “But it still sucks,” Wade added. “It’s unfortunate.”
- Rondo’s situation may be up in the air, but don’t expect Wade to offer input on what his backcourt mate’s role should be, or how the Bulls might alter their roster. Asked today if he gets involved in personnel decisions, Wade said he doesn’t “get paid to do that,” as K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports (all Twitter links). “Don’t put me into none of that,” Wade said. “No upstairs, no downstairs decisions by Dwyane Wade.”
- ESPN’s roundtable, including Friedell, Kevin Pelton, David Thorpe, and others, tackled a few Bulls-related questions, discussing whether the Bulls should be buyers or sellers, and attempting to determine what sort of deals the team might be seeking (Insider-only link). The general consensus: Chicago should be a seller at the deadline, and Rondo probably won’t finish the season with the team, but Jimmy Butler isn’t going anywhere.