Kevin Huerter

Central Notes: Bulls, Garland, Haliburton, Pistons

May 4th, 2025 at 4:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After a third straight play-in appearance that fell short of a playoff berth, the Bulls face an interesting offseason, as NBA insider Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews.

Chicago guard Josh Giddey submitted an encouraging performance during his inaugural season with Chicago, just in time for him to hit restricted free agency this summer. Gozlan notes that a club with cap space, like Brooklyn, could potentially give Giddey an offer sheet, but the Bulls will have the rights to match it. Gozlan projects that Giddey’s play could fetch him a yearly salary in the range of $20-$30MM.

Standout guard Coby White, who will be eligible for a contract extension next season, could earn a significant annual raise if he forgos an extension and instead waits until he reaches unrestricted free agency in 2026.

As Gozlan writes, veterans Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, and Zach Collins are all on expiring deals, and many of those players could be moved in offseason trades rather than extended.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland is expected to be a game-time decision for the first contest of Cleveland’s second round playoff series against Indiana, reports Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. Garland sat out the final two contests of the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of Miami with a sprained left big toe. “We’re just in this kind of area where you just got to kind of see day-by-day and see how it feels tomorrow morning,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Saturday.
Cavaliers players are doing what they can to prepare for two-time Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “He always makes the right play and doesn’t really stat hunt,” sixth man Ty Jerome said. “He’s a winner. He takes and makes big shots. He leads that team. He’s a real definition of a point guard.” Six-time All-Star Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, meanwhile, respects Haliburton’s influence on his team’s offense. “He’s the head of the snake,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of respect for him and what he brings over there. At the end of the day, if people want to say that, they want to say that, but, you know, we don’t look at it that way. We understand how important he is to that group. He’s a threat, and we’ve got to make sure we try to find ways to neutralize him.”
The Pistons submitted an impressive bounce-back season in 2024/25 that included their first playoff berth since 2019, writes Omari Sankofa II Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Now, the club will see four veterans head to unrestricted free agency and also faces extension decisions on young former lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, who will be extension-eligible. Sankofa unpacks the potential fates of these contributors and addresses other burning offseason questions facing Detroit.

Bulls Notes: Play-In Loss, White, Karnisovas, Huerter

April 16th, 2025 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls‘ season ended in familiar fashion on Wednesday night with another loss to Miami in the play-in tournament, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. This is the third straight year that it’s happened, and Wednesday’s game wasn’t close, with the Heat pulling away early while sinking a barrage of outside shots.

Poe notes that Miami scored 39 points in the first quarter and 32 more in the second quarter, neutralizing the Bulls’ game plan of pushing the pace in transition because they constantly had to inbound the ball after made shots. The Heat connected on 10 three-pointers in the first half and held a 24-point lead at intermission.

The home crowd found a little bit to cheer about as the Bulls briefly cut the lead to 13 points in the fourth quarter, but Miami quickly responded to put the game away. With a 39-43 record and an early postseason exit, Poe points out that it’s Chicago’s worst season in four years. The loss ensures the Bulls’ first-round pick will be in the lottery, but they’ll have minuscule odds of moving up to one of the top four selections.

There’s more from Chicago:

Coby White believes the Heat’s experience in big games made the difference, per Andrew Seligman of The Associated Press. White, who had been on a scoring tear to close out the regular season, finished with 17 points but shot just 5-of-20 from the field. “We didn’t really have game-plan discipline,” he said. “We beat them in the regular season. We thought if we just do what we normally do, then we’ll be good. But obviously, they’ve got guys that have been to the finals. They’ve got guys that know what it takes. They got a head coach who’s one of the best head coaches in the league. They came in and they were the better team tonight.”
Executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas should be embarrassed that he wasted another season on player development instead of finding a way to get elite talent on the roster, contends Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley states that every mistake the front office has made over the past five years was on display Wednesday night, but the ultimate difference was dominant shooting by Miami’s Tyler Herro, who finished with 38 points. “You look at any great team, they have ‘a guy’ that’s really, really elite,” coach Billy Donovan said. “And a lot of times it’s in the backcourt. I think Coby made a really good jump, and wherever he gets to, I don’t know. Josh (Giddey) made a nice jump. I’m sure those will be all things the front office will take a look at as they go into the draft and free agency. I don’t disagree with you because that’s kind of been the case. I think what’s changed is the number of guys you needed.”
Kevin Huerter, who was acquired from Sacramento in February, is hoping for a long-term future in Chicago, Cowley adds in a separate story. Huerter still has one season left on his contract, and he wants to find some stability after being dealt twice in the past three years.

Bulls Notes: Ball, Play-In Tournament, Huerter, Buzelis

April 5th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lonzo Ball made enough progress with his sprained right wrist to take part in Friday’s shootaround, writes Brian Sandow of The Chicago Sun-Times, but he was held out of the Bulls‘ victory over Portland, marking the 17th straight game he has missed. Coach Billy Donovan told reporters that Ball didn’t have a setback in his recovery process, but there are still limits in what he’s able to do.

“I think his biggest concern is, can he go out there and be productive with where his wrist is at right now?” Donovan said. “I appreciate the way he’s tried to handle it because he worked really hard to get back. I think he was optimistic he could get back, but as he did things live, five-on-five, coming to shootaround, there are just things as it relates to shooting the basketball, passing the basketball that he feels are still inhibiting him from doing the things he knows he needs to do out there.”

There’s no timetable for Ball to return, but Sandow states that the Bulls also haven’t set a date to shut him down if he continues to be unable to play. Ball is traveling with the team on a two-game road trip, and there’s still hope that he can see game action before the end of the season.

Donovan notes that the latest absence is difficult for Ball, who worked so hard to return after knee injuries sidelined him for two and a half years.

“It eats him up because he’s competitive,” Donovan said. “Being around him before the knee and then seeing what he’s gone through with the knee, he’s never just thrown the towel in and said, ‘Hey, forget it.’”

There’s more from Chicago:

The Bulls are aiming for home-court advantage if they wind up playing Miami in the 9-10 matchup of the play-in tournament, Sandow states in a separate story. The teams have identical 35-42 records coming into today’s action, with Chicago holding the tiebreaker for ninth place. “It’s always easier to win at home, obviously,” Kevin Huerter said. “It’s a long trip to get down to Miami.”
Huerter has been reinvigorated by the trade that sent him from Sacramento to Chicago just before the deadline, observes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. Huerter is shooting 35.8% from three-point range with the Bulls after starting the season at a career-worst 30.2% in 43 games with the Kings. He credits Donovan’s offensive approach for getting him better opportunities. “The first thing the coaches want us to do is attack,” Huerter said. “They tell us the first part of our offense is trying to get into the teeth of the defense and make a play. That’s just everyone’s mindset. You catch the ball, you try to get downhill and make a play. If it’s not there, move off it.”
Matas Buzelis has earned first-team All-Rookie honors, contends Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley points out that Buzelis is tied for fourth in scoring among the rookie class since Zach LaVine was traded in February. Since mid-March, he’s averaging 14.6 PPG and shooting 43.8% from three-point range. “I’m just reading the game when I’m out there,” Buzelis said. “I’m not overthinking it. It’s a very simple game.”

Bulls Notes: Giddey, White, Karnisovas, Ball

March 29th, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The improved play of Josh Giddey and Coby White has turned the Bulls into a much better team, but it also means both players will be in position to demand big contracts soon, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

Giddey has been putting up All-Star numbers since Zach LaVine was traded to Sacramento last month. He’s averaging 20.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game since the deal while shooting 51.1% from the field and 48.9% from three-point range. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, as he and the team were unable to reach an extension agreement after he was acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City last June.

Cowley observes that the Bulls are in position to let Giddey test the market and match whatever offer he gets because there are so few teams with significant cap room. However, they would be risking a strained relationship if he’s stuck with a below-market contract. Cowley estimates Giddey’s worth at $28MM to $30MM per season.

White has one season left on his deal at $12.9MM before entering unrestricted free agency in 2026. Cowley notes that he’s averaging 29.5 PPG in March with back-to-back Player of the Week honors and is likely to get at least $40MM in the first year of his next contract if he continues to perform at or near this level.

There’s more from Chicago:

The Bulls could have tanked after trading LaVine and losing Ayo Dosunmu, Lonzo Ball and Tre Jones to injuries, but they’re playing their best basketball of the season. They’ve embraced coach Billy Donovan‘s extreme up-tempo style that puts constant pressure on opposing defenses, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “We’ve shown over the last month, six weeks, that we can compete with anybody,” Giddey said. “It’s just the way we play the game, I think it wears teams down. We get up and down. We run. We put heat on teams to get back, and a lot of veteran teams don’t particularly want to get back and play in transition, so we understand our game plan and our identity. When we stick to it, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas offered some insight during an appearance on the broadcast of Thursday’s game, tweets KC Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. Karnisovas has been very happy with Jones, Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins, whom the Bulls received in the LaVine trade, saying the front office targeted young players with NBA experience and high basketball IQs. He added that the organization was determined to keep its first-round pick in 2025, along with future draft assets, and is pleased with how the younger players on the roster have developed. He said rookie forward Matas Buzelis needs to get stronger, but he’s humble and has a strong work ethic.
Ball continues to make progress toward returning from a sprained right wrist, and Donovan indicated that he’ll be back in the rotation if he’s able to play again this season, Cowley adds in a separate story. “I get a little concerned with the minutes we’ve played some guys and the pace we’ve been playing, and with Coby, his minutes have been up there, so I think we need another backcourt player,” Donovan said. “I don’t know what the minutes restriction will be, but being able to plug him in and get him back into the fold will be good.”

Central Notes: Bulls, Vucevic, Giannis, Rivers, Bickerstaff

March 25th, 2025 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

After trading DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso during the 2024 offseason and Zach LaVine at last month’s trade deadline, the Bulls – who had a 21-29 record at the time of the LaVine deal and had reacquired full control of their 2025 first-round pick – were considered likely to tank the rest of the season.

Instead, the club has played some of its best basketball of the season in recent weeks. Chicago has posted a .500 record (11-11) since the LaVine trade and has been especially hot as of late, winning eight of its last 10 games. That stretch includes road victories this past week over the Kings, Lakers, and Nuggets, as well as back-to-back Player of the Week awards for guard Coby White.

“I just think we kind of embraced the challenge and took pride in showing that people kind of wrote us off when Zach got traded,” Nikola Vucevic said on Monday, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I think we’ve really come together as a group. Our chemistry has been really good. When you lose someone, a player like (LaVine), it opens up opportunities for other players, and guys have really stepped up — Josh (Giddey), Coby, Tre (Jones) before he got hurt, Kevin (Huerter). Like, Kevin wasn’t playing much in (Sacramento), and he came here with a chip on his shoulder and showed he can still contribute at a high level, and he has been.”

Vucevic was widely expected to be on the move prior to the February 6 trade deadline and is now considered an offseason trade candidate. However, according to Cowley, the veteran center is buying into the new-look group and wouldn’t be opposed to finishing out the final year of his current contract in Chicago.

“Who knows what happens in the summer, but right now I’m focused on this group of guys,” Vucevic said. “I’ve really enjoyed playing with them. Guys with good character, guys that really want to win, they care. We play for each other, we compete, and that’s what you want.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

In a wide-ranging interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo lauded Milwaukee’s role players, reiterated that he cares much more about winning another championship than another MVP award, and downplayed a recent post-game meeting involving him, Damian Lillard, and head coach Doc Rivers.
Rivers ranks eighth all-time among NBA head coaches in regular season wins and will tie Phil Jackson at 1,155 with the Bucks‘ next victory. Rivers spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about what it would mean to surpass Jackson on that list, as well as a handful of other topics, including what Milwaukee needs to do in order to have postseason success this spring. “No. 1 is health,” Rivers said. “But this team is an interesting team. We have proven on given points that we can beat anybody. They decided they were going to win the (NBA) Cup and no one was going to beat us. But then we go backwards.”
Speaking to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, J.B. Bickerstaff explained why the Pistons‘ head coaching position appealed to him last spring when the team was coming off a 14-68 season and why his decision to accept the job was the right one. “I have 1,000% fallen in love with this group,” Bickerstaff said. “And all my focus goes into them and seeing them elevate and seeing them grow. That’s the thing that I find the most joy in.”

Kings/Bulls Notes: DeRozan, White, LaVine, Huerter, T. Jones

March 21st, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward DeMar DeRozan became the 27th player in NBA history to record 25,000 career points on Thursday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. As Law Murray of The Athletic notes, DeRozan joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry as active players who have scored at least 25,000 points.

However, the impressive milestone was bittersweet for DeRozan and the Kings, who lost to his former club, the Bulls.

While DeRozan exchanged in some lighthearted trash-talking with his former teammates leading up to the game, he made it clear afterward that he still supports them, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. DeRozan particularly singled out Coby White, who scored a game-high 35 points in Chicago’s victory.

“Rooting for all those guys, honestly,” DeRozan said. “I watch every single game when we don’t play. Even if we’re playing at the same time, I check the box score and see how guys do. Obviously, I still talk to my sons every day, make sure they’re making their bed and everything. It was great to see Coby thriving the way I knew he would be. You know, working out with him every summer, seeing how much he loved the game, how much he put into it, it was dope to see.

“In the group chat [Wednesday] night, I was talking trash to [Patrick Williams] and [Dalen Terry] about them having nightmares just thinking about guarding me. So it’s fun, and it’s a different type of excitement you have going against familiar faces.”

Here’s more on the Kings and Bulls:

Thursday marked Zach LaVine‘s first game against Chicago since he was traded to the Kings last month. In the lead-up to the game, LaVine reflected on his time with the Bulls, saying he had “no bad blood” and a “really good tenure” during his nearly eight years with the team, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I put that jersey on with a lot of pride,” LaVine said. “I love Chicago. Always will. If you go out there and try your best and it don’t work, sometimes it’s frustrating, both on the organization and as a player. But I wore it with my heart on my sleeve. I can’t get mad at that.”
While LaVine wasn’t out for revenge, the same can’t be said for Kevin Huerter, who was traded by the Kings to the Bulls in the LaVine deal. The 26-year-old had one of his best games of the season against Sacramento, putting up 25 points (on 10-of-16 shooting), seven assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block in 37 minutes. “We’re competitors at the end of the day,” Huerter said Wednesday, per Cowley. “Any game we go into, we’re trying to win. I know those guys over there [in Sacramento] really well. Any time you get moved on from a team, I think it’s natural that you want to kick their ass next time you play them, but there’s no ill will, no hard feelings. [I’m] still pretty close with a lot of people there, so [I’ll] go try and compete.”
Bulls point guard Tre Jones sustained a left midfoot sprain during Thursday’s game, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. X-rays were negative, Johnson adds, and it’s unclear if Jones will miss time due to the injury. The impending free agent has played well for Chicago since he was acquired from San Antonio in the LaVine deal, particularly over the past couple weeks.

Bulls Notes: Huerter, Collins, Jones, Smith, Vucevic, Dosunmu

February 27th, 2025 at 3:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Seventh-year wing Kevin Huerter got off to a poor start after being traded to the Bulls, but he’s been playing much better since the All-Star break, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Huerter admits he initially struggled to adjust after being traded mid-season for the first time in his career.

“Yeah, I didn’t feel like myself, either,” Huerter said. “The break was big for me; a mental refresh was big for me. I came out of it ready to get going, to turn the page and start things going with this organization. The rest was just playing with confidence, and I’m confident in who I am.”

According to Cowley, Huerter is one of several Bulls who are essentially auditioning for jobs beyond 2024/25. While Huerter will earn a guaranteed $18MM in ’25/26, he’s certainly not a lock to stick with Chicago after posting career lows in most statistical categories this season.

“He’s obviously been a proven player in the league and certainly had moments in Atlanta and Sacramento, where he’s been really, really good,” head coach Billy Donovan said of Huerter. “I think anytime you come to a new team there’s going to be a period of adjustment, but I don’t think he was necessarily shooting the ball as well in Sacramento but for him maybe something new and fresh (was needed), trying to get him to take shots when they’re there.”

Here are a few more notes from Chicago:

Due to injuries to Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith, Zach Collins has started the past two games at center and filled in admirably. On Wednesday, he notched season highs of 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists, with the Bulls outscoring the Clippers by six points in his 38 minutes during the five-point loss. “I’ve been in and out of lineups all year, so now I get all the minutes I want,” Collins said, per Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Our team is not as good without those guys in the lineup, so it’s not just me. We all have to pick it up. There are a lot of points and rebounds left out there on the floor without [Vucevic], so we all have to pick up the slack.”
In addition to Huerter and Collins, the Bulls also acquired Tre Jones in the trade that sent Zach LaVine to Sacramento and De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio. Collins says his familiarity with Jones has helped both players get acclimated to their new surroundings, according to Williams. “To come over with a guy that I played with for four years now and gotten close to made the whole thing that much more comfortable,” Collins said. “We took the same car to the airport, same flights, the same time for media, for medical, for extra reps after practice, learning, learning plays and everything.”
Jones, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, also had a strong outing Wednesday, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. The fifth-year point guard recorded 16 points (on 7-of-9 shooting), two rebounds, two assists, one steal and no turnovers and was plus-six in 18 minutes off the bench.
Smith has cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol, and if today’s workout goes well, he’ll be active tomorrow against Toronto, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network. Ayo Dosunmu, who has missed the past three games with a shoulder injury, was doing “light individual work” Thursday but his status for Friday is uncertain. Vucevic will be sidelined again Friday as he continues to deal with right calf injury, Johnson adds.

Bulls Notes: Guards, Donovan, Vucevic, Roster

February 12th, 2025 at 11:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

A surplus of guards following the Bulls‘ blockbuster trade of former All-Star wing Zach LaVine has yielded an interesting dilemma for head coach Billy Donovan. As Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune notes, Donovan is looking to thread the needle between putting giving his best players enough minutes and developing the club’s younger backcourt contributors.

“We have an overabundance of guards, quite honestly,” Donovan said. “We just do. I think we have nine guards. It’s a lot.”

Poe observes that the Bulls traded LaVine and cut guard Chris Duarte while bringing in Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones — ostensibly, then, the team offloaded two guards and brought in two more. But LaVine, at 6’5″, was the team’s starting small forward, and thanks to his athleticism could play a bit bigger than his size. He was also a considerably more multifaceted and prolific scorer than either of the two new additions.

“With the number of guards we have, I’m not opposed to the times when we’ve started with four guards,” Donovan said. “But that may not be the best thing for this group rotation-wise.”

The Bulls’ unbalanced roster appears ready-made to fall further into the depths of lottery contenders. So far, Chicago has gone 1-4 in its five games since the LaVine deal, including losing its last four straight.

There’s more out of the Windy City:

The Bulls suffered their worst loss of the season, a 132-92 defeat to the Pistons on Tuesday, and followed that up with a 128-110 encore loss to Detroit on Wednesday. Poe writes in another piece that Chicago fans booed their own team early in the second quarter on Tuesday. “It’s embarrassing,” Donovan said. “There’s no question about it.” Without LaVine’s scoring acumen, the Bulls could be in for a lot more losing in the last 27 games of the year, Poe notes.
After moving LaVine, the Bulls received offers about another two-time All-Star on their roster, center Nikola Vucevic. Chicago ultimately opted not to move on from the 34-year-old even while clearly pivoting to a rebuild. Poe wonders in an additional story if the front office whiffed on what could have been a prime opportunity to extract the most value possible for the 6’10” vet. As we previously relayed, the team reportedly believes it will be able to fetch more assets in a potential deal this offseason.
The Bulls hope to take stock of their revised roster during the All-Star break, writes Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscriber link). “We’ll come back and meet as a group within plenty of time before we see the team to talk about some of those things,” Donovan said. “There may be some things that we put in offensively and defensively that we feel that maybe could help some of the things maybe we struggled with.”

Central Notes: Schröder, Pistons, Hunter, Porter, Bulls

February 11th, 2025 at 9:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dennis Schröder is playing for his third team this season. He wound up with the Pistons as part of the five-team blockbuster that landed Jimmy Butler with Golden State. Schröder, who started the season with Brooklyn before getting dealt to the Warriors, made his Detroit debut on Sunday and will continue to be part of the rotation with Jaden Ivey on the mend from a broken fibula.

“It’s my 12th season. I think I consider myself a veteran now — 31 years old,” Schröder told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “I can bring a lot to this team, making sure the young guys are doing the right things and not the wrong things and worry about the right things as well to make the team better. That’s what it’s all about and that’s the reason why I’m here 12 years, and I want to show those guys and try to lead by example every single day, but then on the court playing the right way is the reason they got me.”

Schröder will be a free agent after the season.

We have more from the Central Division:

Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon admitted that being a buyer at the trade deadline wasn’t on his radar when he was hired by the team last summer. Detroit’s surprisingly strong play convinced him to alter his plans, though he also used cap space as bait to acquire two future second-rounders. “These guys have put themselves in position where they believe they can be a playoff team, which is exciting. We know that’s important to them,” Langdon said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “To add to that was important to us, as well. We were aware of that and kept that in mind leading to the deadline.”
The Cavaliers have been seeking a big, versatile wing for years and may have finally found their man in De’Andre Hunter, who was acquired from Atlanta. Hunter scored 12 points in 23 minutes against Miami in his Cleveland debut on Monday. “I’m not coming here … trying to change anything,” Hunter told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “I’m just trying to add my skill set to what they already have. They had a need they felt needed to be addressed. I feel like, as someone who prides himself on defense and kind of going out there and (trying) to be a two-way player as best I can. So I think that could really help this team, especially at the small forward. But like I said, they were doing good without me.”
Bucks general manager Jon Horst acknowledges there’s risk in bringing in guard Kevin Porter Jr., who was acquired from the Clippers. Horst believes Porter – who wore out his welcome in Cleveland due to locker-room issues and faced domestic violence charges during his time in Houston – has matured and put that behavior behind him. “I think we have an opportunity to help (him) continue on the path of what he’s on, which is improving and growing. There’s no question that if he does that, we think he can help us,” Horst said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “So there’s a chance for a win-win. But, it’s not unlike any other transaction. There’s risk. And it’s not a five-year commitment and a massive, major thing. I mean, this is a bet, and for him, it’s an opportunity to help us and grow and improve, and he’s been doing it. And that’s what all of our due diligence showed us. And if he does that, he could be a pretty good fit with us. I know he’s excited to be here and we’re excited to have him.” Porter holds a 2025/26 player option on the two-year, minimum salary contract he signed with Los Angeles last offseason.
The Bulls added Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones at the trade deadline but there’s no mandate by the front office to play them, according to coach Billy Donovan. “(The front office hasn’t) come out and said that to me like that, but I do think that there would be organizationally, no question, you want to find out about those guys, they’re here,” Donovan said, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Can they help our team, can they impact our team, and who are they as players? Right. There hasn’t been, ‘Hey, let’s play these guys right now.’ “

Bulls Notes: Karnisovas, New Players, Butler

February 9th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas defended his team’s limited moves leading up to the trade deadline in an interview with K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

In a three-team deal with San Antonio and Sacramento, the Bulls traded former two-time All-Star wing Zach LaVine to reacquire control of their own top-10 protected first-round 2025 pick, along with three fringe role players.

Headed nowhere fast with a 22-30 pre-deadline record, Karnisovas opted to otherwise stay quiet and not move on from former two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, despite there being trade overtures for his services.

During his conversation with Johnson, Karnisovas cited system continuity as part of the reason he didn’t want to move more key rotation players from what’s looking to be barely a play-in team.

“I think I’m happy where we are,” Karnisovas told Johnson. “I remember [the] trade deadline four years ago, when we acquired Vuc and we had, like, [five new] players. And it was tough for the 30 games remaining in season… to keep the same group and learning how to play with each other and all that stuff.”

After trading for Vucevic at the 2020/21 season deadline, Chicago went 12-17 across its final 29 contests and finished as the No. 11 seed. In the intervening seasons, the team had made zero trade deadline moves until this year. Although they’ve qualified for the play-in tournament several times, the Bulls have only made the actual playoffs once since adding Vucevic, with or without in-season trades.

A more talented Philadelphia team is breathing down the Bulls’ necks, just one game behind 10th-seeded Chicago as of this writing. Karnisovas’ argument for system continuity to effectively preserve an underwhelming team performance rings hollow.

Jon Greenberg of The Athletic also calls out Karnisovas for not having or explaining a clear vision for Chicago after dealing LaVine, while his colleague Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic is similarly baffled.

There’s more out of Chicago:

Karnisovas looked into flipping the three new Bulls — guards Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter and center Zach Collins — after trading for them on Tuesday, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. The players were with Chicago but sat out its game on Wednesday, while awaiting possible trades away from the team. “It was definitely crazy,” Collins said of the uncertainty. “You’re sitting there, you don’t know what’s going on, then you see a tweet or you see an Instagram post and you call your agent three times. You’re just like, ‘Somebody tell me something.’” Poe notes that Huerter and Collins are both under team control through the 2025/26 season, while Jones reaches free agency this year.
Jones, Huerter and Collins since made their debuts for the Bulls in a 132-111 blowout defeat to Golden State on Friday, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The players may all have tenuous long-term futures with Chicago, however, with Jones on an expiring deal and Huerter and Collins potential offseason trade candidates. Head coach Billy Donovan acknowledged that the new Bulls are essentially auditioning to stick around beyond this season. “These guys fitting in stylistically on how we want to play, you want to give them a chance and see how they can help our group more or less,” Donovan said. “For those guys, and we had discussed this, and it’s this way around the league, there are always these pins and needles, ‘Am I going to be here? I just got here. Am I going somewhere else?’”
That Warriors loss marked an uncomfortable moment for Bulls fans. The return of Jimmy Butler — playing his first game ever for Golden State — to the United Center served as a reminder to fans that not much has changed for the team since its last half-hearted rebuild, opines Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. The last time the Bulls traded away a multi-time All-Star was in 2017 when it was Butler who was sent to Minnesota for LaVine and others.

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