Bulls Notes: Collins, Buzelis, Giddey, Williams
Injuries left Zach Collins as the Bulls‘ only remaining option at center for the past two games, resulting in a lot of minutes for the newly acquired big man, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. With Nikola Vucevic out of action to “proactively” rest a calf injury and Jalen Smith in concussion protocol, Collins made two straight starts, logging 28 minutes in Monday’s contest and 38 on Wednesday.
“I’m tired,” joked Collins, who was only averaging 11.8 minutes off the bench in San Antonio before being traded earlier this month. “I guess I’m getting all the minutes I want.”
Poe notes that Collins has faced a challenging adjustment moving into coach Billy Donovan’s up-tempo approach, which has been necessary because of the team’s overall lack of size. Collins has played well enough since the deal that Donovan indicated he might use some double-big lineups when Vucevic and Smith are healthy. That could happen soon, as K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweeted that Smith participated in this morning’s shootaround.
Collins is also working to solidify his future with the Bulls, who are expected to try again this summer to trade Vucevic.
“You want to help put your team in a position to win,” Collins said. “Great individual games don’t really mean much if you can’t get the win.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Suns star Kevin Durant was impressed by rookie forward Matas Buzelis when the teams met last weekend, Poe adds in a separate story. Buzelis wasn’t intimidated in his matchup with an NBA legend, posting 15 points and three rebounds in 24 minutes. “I like Matas,” Durant said. “I liked him when he was with the G League Ignite. He’s long, athletic and can shoot it. He is definitely going to have some bumps and bruises as he gets through these first few years in the league trying to figure stuff out. The more experience, the more reps he gets on the floor as a starter, the better he’ll become.”
- The Bulls shouldn’t be fooled by Josh Giddey‘s recent hot streak, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Giddey is averaging 19.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game since the trade deadline while shooting 52.3% from the field and 62.5% from three-point range. However, Mayberry points out that Giddey, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is playing for his next contract. Mayberry urges the front office to let the process play out with Giddey and not repeat last year’s mistake with Patrick Williams, who was re-signed before he could negotiate with other teams.
- In the same piece, Mayberry expresses skepticism that any team will be willing to trade for Williams, who has four years and $72MM left on his current deal.
Bulls Notes: Giddey, Vucevic, Dosunmu, Ball
Josh Giddey knows he’s pumped up his value with his strong play this season. The Bulls guard will enter restricted free agency this summer and admitted to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley that he’s wondering how it will play out.
‘‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it,’’ Giddey said. ‘‘Every player in the league thinks about it, but I don’t let it impact what I do on the floor. I don’t come out here with any preconceived ideas of how I want to play or the numbers I want to put up to earn X amount of dollars or whatever it may be.’’
The Bulls were unable to come to a rookie scale extension agreement with Giddey after acquiring him from the Thunder last offseason. Giddey and his representatives indicated at that time they were looking to match Magic guard Jalen Suggs’ extension of $30MM per year for five years, Cowley confirms. The Bulls will have the ability to match if Giddey signs an offer sheet this summer.
We have more on the Bulls:
- One of the things Giddey has improved upon is his long-range shooting, Cowley notes. The fourth-year guard has made 37% of his 3-point attempts, up from 33.7% in his last season with Oklahoma City. He knocked down all three of his attempts in the blowout victory over Philadelphia on Monday, improving his percentage to a whopping 52.2% this month. “Obviously, you feel good when shots start falling, and it can have a snowball effect. That’s where I’m probably at right now,” he said.
- Starting center Nikola Vucevic is listed as doubtful to play against the Clippers on Wednesday due to right calf tightness, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. Guard Ayo Dosunmu is questionable due to a left shoulder subluxation.
- Lonzo Ball is not listed on the injury report. That was a positive development, considering he departed Monday’s game early due to a head laceration, the team tweets.
Josh Giddey Is Only 2025 RFA To Meet Starter Criteria So Far
When a player on an expiring contract is eligible for restricted free agency, his qualifying offer is determined in part by whether or not he met the “starter criteria” during the season – or two seasons – leading up to his free agency. As we explain in our glossary entry, a player meets the starter criteria when he achieves one of the following:
- He plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.
- He averages either 2,000 minutes or 41 starts in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency.
If a top-14 pick coming to the end of his rookie contract fails to meet the starter criteria, the value of his qualifying offer declines. Conversely a player who was drafted at No. 10 or later or who went undrafted altogether can increase the value of his qualifying offer by meeting the starter criteria.
In many cases, an increase or decrease to a qualifying offer won’t materially affect the player’s restricted free agency, since a QO is just a one-year contract offer issued in order for the team to retain its right of first refusal. The player has the option of accepting it, but in most cases it functions as a placeholder until the RFA signs an offer sheet with a rival team or negotiates a new multiyear contract with his current team.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, for example, will likely sign a lucrative long-term deal when he reaches free agency this summer, so it won’t matter all that much if he falls short of the starter criteria and his QO drops from the standard amount of $10,240,287 to $7,976,830.
But for a player who is less likely to secure a significant payday but still a good bet to receive a qualifying offer, a difference of a few million dollars between potential QOs could have a major impact on how his free agency plays out. That difference may affect how willing a team is to put the qualifying offer on the table and how likely the player is to simply accept it.
With all that in mind, it’s worth checking in on which potential 2025 restricted free agents have actually met the starter criteria so far this season and which ones are on track to do so. The first list is a short one: Bulls guard Josh Giddey is the only player to meet the starter criteria so far.
Giddey had a huge head-start because he made 80 starts for Oklahoma City in 2023/24, meaning he just needed to make two starts this season in order to achieve an average of 41 for the past two seasons. He made his second start for the Bulls way back on October 25, which means his qualifying offer this summer will be $11,142,057 instead of dropping to $7,976,830.
None of the 10 other potential restricted free agents have met the starter criteria though. Of those players, the following three were lottery picks, with their default qualifying offers noted in parentheses:
- Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors ($10,240,287)
- Davion Mitchell, Heat ($8,741,210)
- Ziaire Williams, Nets ($8,353,153)
Kuminga has only started 10 games this season and will fall short of the starter criteria, which will bump his QO down to $7,976,830. Mitchell and Williams still have a chance to get there though — Mitchell has 28 starts under his belt, while Williams has 26. They both need to reach 41 to achieve the starter criteria, and they’ve been regular starters for their respective teams as of late. If they hang onto their starting jobs and stay healthy, they’ll surpass 41 starts.
Again, Kuminga’s free agency is unlikely to be affected by his smaller qualifying offer, since his offer will likely just serve as a placeholder and a last-resort fallback option. Maybe the Nets will be slightly less inclined to give Williams a qualifying offer if it’s worth $8.35MM instead of $7.98MM, but that’s such a small gap that it’s unlikely to affect the team’s QO decision either way. The same goes for Mitchell and the Heat.
The other seven players on expiring contracts who are eligible for restricted free agency are Cam Thomas (Nets), Santi Aldama (Grizzlies), Quentin Grimes (Sixers), Tre Mann (Hornets), Isaiah Jackson (Pacers), Day’Ron Sharpe (Nets), and Jabari Walker (Trail Blazers). Jaden Springer, Chris Duarte, and Bones Hyland were also part of this group before being waived this month.
Of those players, only Thomas has a realistic chance of meeting the starter criteria. He started 51 games last season, which means he needs to get to 31 this season. He’s at 17 and the Nets have 25 left to play. If Thomas can return from his hamstring strain relatively soon, which seems likely, he has a good shot at starting 14 games and reaching the necessary threshold. That would increase his QO from $5,993,172 to $8,741,210.
The others will remain eligible for their standard QOs, based on draft position (or their prior salary, in Walker’s case), as follows:
- Tre Mann, Hornets ($6,964,982)
- Isaiah Jackson, Pacers ($6,422,431)
- Quentin Grimes, Sixers ($6,311,825)
- Day’Ron Sharpe, Nets ($5,983,683)
- Santi Aldama, Grizzlies ($5,940,797)
- Jabari Walker, Trail Blazers ($2,524,624)
And-Ones: 2025 FAs, College Jobs, MCW, WNBA, More
A series of contract extensions have depleted the star-level talent in the NBA’s 2025 free agent class, but there will still be some notable names to watch this summer, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) detail.
Both Pincus and Marks have longtime NBA stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden atop their lists of 2025 free agents, with Marks positing that no player will have more leverage this offseason than Irving, given how badly the Mavericks need to retain the veteran point guard following the trade of Luka Doncic.
After James, Irving, and Harden, who have combined for 41 career All-Star appearances, the next tier of free agents consists of players like Myles Turner, Fred VanVleet, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, and Timberwolves power forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Interestingly, Pincus has Reid ranked ahead of the three-time All-Star he backs up, placing Reid at No. 5 and Randle at No. 7 in his early FA rankings.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As is typical at this time of year, a number of NBA coaches and executives are receiving interest for jobs at the college basketball level, notes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Fischer mentions Hornets executive Buzz Peterson and veteran player agent Jim Tanner as possible candidates for UNC’s general manager job and says Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Suns assistant David Fizdale, and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger are among the names to watch for the University of Miami’s head coaching position. Fischer adds that Kings assistant Luke Loucks has been linked to Florida State’s head coaching opening.
- Former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams is involved in a bid to bring an WNBA expansion franchise to Boston, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. With expansion teams lined up for San Francisco, Portland, Toronto, and Cleveland, the WNBA will have 16 clubs by 2028, so it’s unclear whether or not the league will be looking to expand beyond that number right away.
- Passing along the results of a player poll from All-Star weekend, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes that the 14 respondents were unanimously against the idea of 10-minute quarters floated last month by commissioner Adam Silver. However, 12 of those 14 players liked the new All-Star tournament format.
- The Lakers‘ and Pistons‘ G League affiliates completed a trade on Wednesday, with the South Bay Lakers acquiring forward Cole Swider from the Motor City Cruise in exchange for Chris Silva‘s returning rights and a 2025 first-round pick, per a press release. Silva is currently playing overseas, but Swider has been active in the G League and will begin suiting up for South Bay.
Bulls Notes: Ball, Tanking, Roster Keepers, Williams
Loyalty factored into Lonzo Ball‘s decision to accept a two-year, $20MM extension from the Bulls, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The second year is a club option, and if the Bulls exercise it, Ball’s total salary for the next two seasons will be less than the $21.4MM he’s making this year. It’s his way of repaying the team for believing in him while he was sidelined with knee issues for two and a half seasons.
“Just the overall picture,” Ball explained. “The doctor being out here, so not having to deal with the rehab process like I have the last couple years, the relationship I have with the front office, the coaching staff, the young guys here, it all made sense for me to stay. That’s what I wanted ultimately, and we were able to come to an agreement.”
The announcement of the extension was somewhat of a surprise considering that Ball had been heavily involved in trade rumors leading up to the February 6 deadline. He was also headed toward free agency this summer, which could have resulted in a much larger payday, but he prefers the stability of staying in Chicago.
“I’m in trade talks every year so that’s not a new thing to me, but I expressed to my agent (Rich Paul) that I wanted to stay, and they wanted to have me,” Ball said. “They stayed with me for probably the toughest journey in my life so far, so I was just trying to get back, man, and be loyal to who was loyal to me. I was brought up like that my whole life. I’m really big on family and I feel like it’s family here.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- The front office may regret not fully embracing a tanking strategy at the deadline, Cowley states in a separate story. Chicago sent Zach LaVine to Sacramento, but held onto Ball and veteran center Nikola Vucevic, sending mixed signals about which direction the franchise is headed. Cowley advocates emulating the 9-45 Wizards, as well as the Rockets and Pistons, who were able to quickly rebuild after tanking in recent seasons. Beyond having a better shot at Cooper Flagg, the top prize in this year’s draft, Cowley points out that there will be three potential franchise players in the 2026 class.
- In another Sun-Times piece, Cowley tries to determine which players from the current roster should return next season. His list includes Ball, restricted free agent Josh Giddey, rookie Matas Buzelis, Jalen Smith and either Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu.
- Patrick Williams will miss Thursday’s game at New York with soreness in his right quadriceps tendon, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Williams banged knees with another player in the final game before the All-Star break, but the injury doesn’t appear serious as he was able practice without restrictions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Ball, Vucevic, Dosunmu, Jones
Zach LaVine might have felt more bitterness if the Bulls had traded him a year ago, but he had nothing but good things to say about his former organization after being dealt to the Kings, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
After trying for more than a year to unload LaVine’s pricey contract, Chicago sent him to Sacramento on Monday as part of a three-team deal. Cowley notes that there was a lot of mistrust between LaVine and the Bulls when he was first placed on the market, but that has dissipated since this season began.
“There’s no bad blood,” LaVine said. “I got traded early on in my career, and it hit me, but now you control what you can. I was taking my son on a walk when I got the call from [agent] Rich [Paul], and I was extremely excited. I appreciate everything and my time in Chicago, but now that I’m here, it’s time to take my career to the next step and continue that along. It’s always great to be in a place that you are wanted, and not everyone has an opportunity to have that, so I’m very thankful.”
LaVine was a leader in Chicago, and many of his former teammates were sorry to see him go, Cowley adds. Nikola Vucevic recalled how welcoming LaVine was when he was acquired in a 2021 deadline deal, rookie Matas Buzelis called him a mentor and Coby White said he was “shocked and sad” when he learned that LaVine was leaving.
“Everybody has to play the cards that they’re dealt,” LaVine said. “The situation that you’re in, the team that you play for, I always put my best foot forward and try to do everything I can to help the team. Are you always going to be able to? No, but for me now in my 11th year, being in one playoff series, you want to try to challenge yourself to get there. You want to compete for championships; you want to be in big games.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- The Bulls received a few trade offers for Lonzo Ball, but he preferred to stay in Chicago and was rewarded Wednesday with a two-year extension, Cowley states in a separate story. Ball’s teammates found out about the deal at halftime and offered their congratulations to Ball, who overcame more than two years of knee issues to return to the court. “Guys are very happy for him,” Vucevic said. “Guys have a certain respect and responsibility to step it up when he’s on the court because we know what he’s been through, we see how hard he competes every night. When you see that, you can’t help but try to match that and play hard for him. The way he plays, great team player, always tries to stay positive. You see him dive on the floor, fight for rebounds … you see that and what he’s been through, it just motivates you to play harder.”
- Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, Bulls head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas raised eyebrows with some of his comments, suggesting that a “playoff push” could still be on the table this season and stating that he’s focused on building a solid 10-player group rather than focusing on finding stars, Cowley writes for the Sun-Times. “There’s different structures that you can try to get to a championship,” Karnisovas said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN (Twitter link). “There’s two or three star players and then a lot of role players or you can build it as nine or 10 very good players.” Karnisovas specified that the Bulls are attempting the latter route, Collier adds.
- A source close to the situation tells Cowley that Karnisovas and his front office have a “more definite plan in place” than what he has conveyed publicly, and Cowley clarifies that the Bulls executive would only want to see the team making a second-half playoff push if it’s led by young players like Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey.
- “We obviously value draft compensation and young players, and flexibility, I think in that order,” Karnisovas said on Thursday in explaining the decision to retain veterans like Nikola Vucevic. “But again, we have nine players that are between 20 and 25 (years old). You have to have a right mix of players to grow. You can’t just roll out all young players and they’re going to develop on their own. I think you need the right vets, experienced guys to be around. I see Vooch and keeping Zo (Ball) in that role.” According to Cowley, the Bulls considered the offers they got for Vucevic to be underwhelming and are hopeful they’ll improve in the summer when teams have more cap flexibility.
- Multiple teams who spoke to the Bulls ahead of the trade deadline about their guards came away with the impression that the team views Ayo Dosunmu as a keeper, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Interestingly, Johnson also says that newly acquired point guard Tre Jones is a candidate to remain with the team beyond his expiring contract.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Latest On De’Aaron Fox
More than half the teams in the NBA have inquired on De’Aaron Fox since the Kings made him available for trade on Tuesday, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Talks with San Antonio, Fox’s reported preferred destination, are going to be particularly interesting, Amick writes, with the Spurs potentially in position to push negotiations into the offseason in an effort to further evaluate their options without losing out on Fox to another team.
One potential sticking point in negotiations between the two teams could be the inclusion of 2024 lottery pick Stephon Castle. Amick writes that there is skepticism in league circles that the Spurs would include their rookie who has shown real potential.
Additionally, from the Spurs’ perspective, it may make more sense to wait until the offseason to make a move for Fox because Chris Paul is continuing to help elevate their franchise at 39 years old.
While Fox is likely to sign an extension with the Spurs if he’s traded there, other inquiring teams are likely viewing him as a rental (he’s under contract through the 2025/26 season), and the quality of their offers figures to reflect that.
The general mood of the locker room in Sacramento could impact the Kings’ timing in moving Fox, as Amick says multiple players expressed frustration that this situation is poorly timed since it coincides with Sacramento playing well under interim coach Doug Christie.
One player the Kings are not interested in acquiring as part of any Fox deal is the Heat‘s Jimmy Butler. The Kings “do not see Butler as the answer,” according to Amick. As has been well-reported, the Heat are trying to trade Butler ahead of the 2025 deadline and the Kings’ star point guard would be a logical target for Miami, given his Kentucky connection with Bam Adebayo.
Fox hasn’t requested a trade from the Kings, but his unwillingness to commit long-term led the Kings to approach his representation and put him on the block. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Fox and his camp would have preferred to reach this point this summer when teams are more flush with draft capital and room to make offers.
The Nets are described by Fischer as a team who can be ruled out for an in-season acquisition of Fox but could make a run for the one-time All-Star in the summer.
Regardless of whether Fox becomes eligible for a super-max this season by making an All-NBA team, he has no intention of signing an extension with the Kings, Fischer writes. While Fischer suggests that the haul for Fox wouldn’t be the same as what the Cavaliers had to give up for Donovan Mitchell, as an example, it might not make sense for the Spurs to surrender multiple valuable assets for a player who is interested in signing with them in 2026 either way.
Pairing up with Wembanyama is still Fox’s ultimate goal, fueled by representation by Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul. According to Fischer, that destination was also in mind when Darius Garland‘s future in Cleveland was called into question last offseason. The Spurs have also envisioned potentially targeting Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball or Chicago’s Josh Giddey to pair with their franchise center, Fischer adds.
Here are some other recent tidbits about Fox:
- The Lakers aren’t a potential Fox destination because Klutch knows Los Angeles wouldn’t give up Austin Reaves in any deal with Sacramento, Fischer writes.
- As has been reported, the Rockets are looking to play out the rest of the season with their young core that has them in No. 2 in the Western Conference. However, that’s not the only reason they’re not currently exploring a trade for Fox. According to Fischer, the Rockets are skeptical of Fox’s fit with the team, even though the timeline makes sense.
- A potential Fox trade could cause veteran DeMar DeRozan to reevaluate his future in Sacramento, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes. “Yeah, it’s tough because looking at the landscape, before I came here, those are the guys I talked to was Fox, [Domantas Sabonis] and Malik [Monk],” DeRozan said. “Those are the core guys that made it easy for me to make my decision to play here, and a key player, a key juggernaut in Fox, not knowing the future of that, it does make it tough.“
No Untouchables In Bulls’ Trade Talks
Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Lonzo Ball have been the Bulls players most frequently cited this season as trade candidates, but head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas would be open to moving just about anyone on the roster if he thinks the deal is in the team’s best long-term interests and helps Chicago keep its top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
Cowley identifies Matas Buzelis as the only exception, but clarifies that the rookie forward isn’t “completely untouchable” either.
The report doesn’t come as a real surprise. Chicago has also reportedly made forward Patrick Williams available, and Cowley suggested last month that guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu aren’t off the table in trade talks.
The Bulls also aren’t likely to be especially attached to reserves like Jalen Smith, Jevon Carter, Chris Duarte, Torrey Craig, and Talen Horton-Tucker, while youngsters Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips haven’t established themselves as long-term keepers.
That leaves Josh Giddey, who was viewed as Chicago’s probable point guard of the future when the team acquired him last summer from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso. Giddey didn’t sign a rookie scale extension last fall and has had an up-and-down first season as a Bull, but I’d still be a little surprised if he’s moved by next Thursday, given that his value on an expiring contract would be limited.
A source tells Cowley that Karnisovas has come down to some extent on what teams viewed as “unrealistic” asking prices for his top trade chips earlier in the season, though that doesn’t mean he’s simply willing to sell off players to the highest bidder.
Discussing the latest on Vucevic within a trade rumor round-up on his Substack, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports that the Bulls are still seeking a first-round pick in return for the veteran center. Stein describes the Warriors as “at the front of the line” of Vucevic suitors, but says Golden State has been unwilling to offer more than second-round capital to this point.
As for LaVine, he was at the center of one of the season’s earlier notable trade rumors when a report in mid-December indicated that the Nuggets had real interest in the Bulls guard. However, LaVine has been on a tear since then, further increasing his value by staying healthy and averaging 27.0 points per game on .524/.467/.786 shooting over his past 18 games. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has heated up too, putting up 21.3 PPG and 5.9 APG with a .485/.404/.913 shooting line during the same time frame.
As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, Murray’s resurgence will likely make “big-game hunting less of a priority” for the Nuggets, while LaVine’s heater will make it more difficult for Denver to meet Chicago’s asking price. So the odds of a trade sending LaVine to the Nuggets look slimmer than they did a month ago.
In case you missed it, we wrote about another Bulls-related rumor earlier today, passing along word that Chicago has talked to the Suns about Bradley Beal.
Bulls Notes: Buzelis, White, Giddey
The Bulls have several young players on their roster, but only rookie forward Matas Buzelis has the raw talent to potentially change the team’s trajectory, argues Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. However, the 20-year-old from Chicago will have to improve in a number of different areas for that to happen.
“The one thing is, he has earned his minutes, which has been a positive,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “He has terrific upside and ability and talent. But he’s young.
“It’s kind of what we were talking about with [Patrick Williams]. All these guys get into a situation where when they come into the league at an extremely young age, there’s a pass given on, ‘They’re young. They have to learn.’ And rightfully so. But after a period of time, you have to be able to do this. And with Matas, [it’s] the consistency part from him of understanding the league, understanding personnel, understanding who he’s guarding.
“I’ve been really encouraged with the way he has responded, and I do think he’ll continue to improve. He’s a worker and gets in there and competes. But as a young guy, he has to learn.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- As Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune writes, Buzelis has shown flashes of tantalizing upside this season, but the No. 11 overall pick ranks just 32nd among rookies in minutes per game (12.8 in 42 appearances). After logging roughly his season average in the first half of Monday’s win against the Clippers, he didn’t play at all in the final two quarters, a trend that has been happening for some time. He says he only has himself to blame for that, per Poe. “I deserved it,” Buzelis said. “I was minus-11, wasn’t making shots, defensively messed up, missed a few offensive rebounds. It’s part of the learning process. I can’t get frustrated (with playing time) when I’m the one not playing well.”
- Guard Coby White met with a foot doctor on Tuesday after undergoing imaging, and while nothing is structurally wrong with his ankle, he’s unlikely to suit up on Thursday at Golden State, Donovan said (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network). White, who missed Monday’s game, is officially listed as questionable with right ankle soreness.
- Josh Giddey has had an up-and-down first season with the Bulls, struggling at times on defense, which is one of the primary reasons he hasn’t been a consistent part of closing lineups. That changed on Monday, when the fourth-year guard put up 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes in the win vs. the Clips. The 22-year-old will be a restricted free agent in the summer, and he admits he sometimes wonders about the uncertainty of his contract situation, according to Cowley. “I’m very happy here,” Giddey said. “I love the players, the coaches, everyone has been great here. I’d be lying if I said I never think about it. Every player in the country thinks about it, but you can’t let it impact the way you play. It’s a business. The contract will be taken care of at the end of the year, whatever it is, how long it is, where it is? It’s kind of out of my hands by then, so just play the season and do my best.”
Bulls Notes: Giddey, Dosunmu, Trade Talks, Buzelis
Josh Giddey returned to the lineup with a triple-double Saturday night as the Bulls got a much-needed win over Milwaukee, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. He missed the previous four games with a sprained right ankle that was originally feared to be much worse than it turned out to be. Giddey sparked the team with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, but he preferred to talk about his improved defense.
“Taking more pride on that side of the ball is something I wanted to buy into probably 10, 12 games ago,” he said. “I met with (coach Billy Donovan), and we spoke about it in order to close games and be an impact. Even when offense isn’t going great, you’ve got to be locked in on that side of the ball. So, I really tried to hone in that side. It’s not going to be perfect. It won’t be for anybody, but I just made an emphasis to really be locked in on that side of the ball.”
Giddey realized he needed to upgrade his defense after a November 15 game in which the Cavaliers repeatedly targeted him on that end of the court, Mayberry adds. He responded to the experience with extra film study and a commitment to bring more effort to his defensive responsibilities.
“There’s only so much film you can watch,” he said. “It’s your will and your want to do it. I flipped that switch, and I want to do it now. It’s something I’ve wanted to take pride in and put myself in those positions where I have to sit down and guard the ball. I’ve really tried to lock in on that side of the ball and make an emphasis of standing my ground and not being the weak link on that side of the ball. You get to a point in your NBA career where you are who you are, and I didn’t want to be that way on the defensive side.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Ayo Dosunmu will be reevaluated in 10 days after straining his lower right calf in a December 23 game, the Bulls announced (via Twitter). He sat out Thursday’s contest with a sore Achilles, and medical imaging on Friday revealed the cause of the pain, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Let it calm down,” Donovan said. “No tears or anything like that, but certainly a strain showed up. With the way he plays, it’s probably in an area that will continue to cause problems unless he rests it. You’re always going to be susceptible to causing more problems. It was something that was caught earlier, which is a positive.” Cowley notes that Dosunmu was coming off his best stretch of the season, averaging 14.2 points and 6.4 assists in his last nine games.
- The Bulls appear to be quiet in trade talks, as Donovan indicated that team vice president Arturas Karnisovas hasn’t contacted him about any serious proposals, Cowley adds in a separate story. “I think he’s always been respectful that we’ve got games coming, and we’re talking about the team, the roster, where we’re at now, how we get better, how we improve, those type of things,” Donovan said. “But there hasn’t been anything of substance of ‘Hey, this is where things are at.'”
- Matas Buzelis may already be the Bulls’ best shot blocker, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. The rookie forward had two more blocks Saturday night and leads the team in that category even though he’s only ninth in minutes played.