Bulls Notes: Ball, Dosunmu, DeRozan, Karnisovas
In a narrow 124-119 loss to Sacramento on Sunday, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball made his first start since January 14, 2022. As Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, a grateful Ball – who started all 35 of his outings in 2021/22 in his first year with the Bulls was happy for the opportunity to at least temporarily reclaim that role.
“[I’m] thankful for everybody that stuck with me, appreciative of the organization for riding with me the whole way and just seeing it all come full circle,” Ball said.
The UCLA alum underwent three surgeries to repair a meniscus issue in his knee and missed the two-and-a-half seasons. This season, Ball had previously only played under a minutes restriction off the bench.
Across 26 minutes of action on Sunday as a starter, Ball scored 15 points and handed out three assists. Starter Coby White was sidelined with a neck injury.
“Whatever you need from him, he’s always ready to play,’’ Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of Ball.
There’s more out of the Windy City:
- Bulls sixth man guard Ayo Dosunmu, who if healthy would have started over Ball, has been sidelined since December 23 with a calf injury. According to Williams, Dosunmu continues to rehab the ailment and inch closer towards an on-court return. ‘‘We’ve gotten a really good response from the ramp-up,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘There’s a few more days they want to continue on that, just to see how he responds. With some of the hurdles we’ve wanted him to cross, he’s responded pretty well.’’
- Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan reflected on the end of his three-year Bulls run during his first game back in Chicago on Sunday, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. The six-time All-Star unpacked how things ended between him and the Bulls last summer, when he ultimately agreed to join Sacramento on a three-year, $73.9MM deal via sign-and-trade. “Sometimes the way the business of basketball works, a lot of stuff becomes out of both sides’ control,” DeRozan said. “But with that, just got to appreciate the time that was spent there. I gave it my all, all three years.” With the victory Sunday, DeRozan’s Kings won their seventh straight game. Sacramento is now 7-1 under interim head coach Doug Christie.
- The next few weeks ahead of the February 6 NBA trade deadline could ultimately either make or break Bulls team president Arturas Karnisovas’ stint leading the front office, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. At 18-21, Chicago occupies the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of Philadelphia for the last play-in tournament spot. The team boasts several veteran players on tradable contracts and has a limited ceiling with its current roster. Poe notes that Karnisovas remaining relatively inactive at a critical transaction point once again would represent a potentially disastrous approach for Chicago. The Bulls haven’t made the playoffs in two years and appear unlikely to break through this season. That said, they will not have their own draft pick this summer if it falls outside the top 10, so it may behoove them to get worse in a hurry. Poe writes that the team hasn’t had significant talks about offloading former two-time All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, and is reportedly open to trading anyone on its roster. White and Dosunmu, two solid young players on reasonable deals, have surprisingly not received much trade interest yet, per Poe.
Community Shootaround: First Half’s Pleasant Surprises, Disappointments
The fact that Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball has been able to play in 19 games so far this season is an achievement in itself, given that he missed the previous two-and-a-half years while dealing with ongoing knee problems. As Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps write for ESPN.com (Insider link), what’s even more impressive is how impactful Ball has been during his time on the court.
Although his numbers, including 5.8 points per game on .359/.318/.750, don’t look especially strong, Ball is once again making the sorts of winning plays that don’t show up in the box score. Chicago has a +6.9 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -5.0 mark when he’s not.
“Someone is going to get him next year and look smart,” one executive said to ESPN of Ball, who is on an expiring contract.
Ball is among several players identified by Windhorst and Bontemps as the pleasant surprises of the first half of the 2024/25 NBA season. Here are a few more of the names on that list:
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks: “He’s been everything the Knicks were hoping for and more, and his absence has left a larger hole than the Wolves would’ve ever thought,” a scout told ESPN.
- Cade Cunningham, Pistons: “When the Pistons gave him the max, there were quite a few people who thought it was a risk, and he’s been very strong,” a general manager said.
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs: “What he’s doing is just ridiculous,” an executive said. “Say whatever you want about him meeting expectations; if he gets that roster to the playoffs, he should get MVP votes. And he might.”
- Norman Powell, Clippers: “He’s gotten more minutes and shots, but no one would’ve believed he’d take this leap at this stage of his career,” an exec said to ESPN.
James Harden (Clippers), Dyson Daniels (Hawks), and Cameron Johnson (Nets) are among the others mentioned by ESPN’s duo.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Heat teammates Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez, and Sixers center Joel Embiid are among the season’s biggest disappointments, as identified by Windhorst, Bontemps, and the sources they spoke to. Here are a few more of the players in that group:
- Paul George, Sixers: “Philly probably knew there was a chance they’d have a rough PG year on this contract but they probably thought it would be year four — not year one,” an executive said.
- Kyle Kuzma, Wizards: “I know he’s dealt with an injury,” one scout told ESPN, “but I think this has been the most disappointing season of his career.”
- Scoot Henderson, Trail Blazers: “I thought it was a guarantee he’d play much better this year than last and show some things,” an exec said. “I’ve been wrong. His numbers are down, and the eye (test) confirms it.”
We want to know what you think.
Which NBA players have you been most pleasantly surprised or disappointed by so far this season? Are there any names on ESPN’s lists – or scouts’ and executives’ comments – that you strongly agree or disagree with?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Eastern Notes: Embiid, Butler, LaVine, Valanciunas
Sixers center Joel Embiid missed a third consecutive game on Friday due to a sprained left foot, but head coach Nick Nurse said the team doesn’t believe the issue will be a long-term concern, suggesting the big man could be back in action as early as Sunday, per Dan Gelston of The Associated Press.
Still, Embiid’s availability has been spotty all season. He has played in more than two consecutive games just twice, appearing in 13 total contests out of Philadelphia’s 36. The 76ers are 7-2 in the last nine games Embiid has played, but his frequent appearances on the injury report – along with a handful of other health issues affecting players up an down the roster – have hindered the club’s ability to build chemistry and momentum.
“It’s difficult with guys in and out of the lineup,” point guard Tyrese Maxey said, according to Gelston. “As soon as we get some continuity, as soon as we get flowing, guys miss (games). It’s really difficult. Guys have to kind of change their roles every single night. That puts pressure on us, man. We miss Jo, we miss Paul (George), we miss KJ (Martin). It’s hard to win in this league when you’re not healthy.”
The Sixers’ loss on Friday to a 7-31 New Orleans team missing Zion Williamson was one of their most discouraging defeats of the season. Philadelphia is now 15-21 and is two games back of the Bulls for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Here’s more from around the East:
- After former Heat star Tim Hardaway Sr. said during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter video link) that Miami gave the NBPA a 10-page document and film to back up their assertion that Jimmy Butler engaged in conduct detrimental to the team, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets that he can’t confirm that specific claim. However, Jackson does say that the team was careful in documenting the incidents that led to the seven-game suspension, which is reportedly being challenged by the players’ union.
- Bulls guard Zach LaVine is having one of the best seasons of his career and has been even better since the calendar flipped to January, averaging 32.8 points per game on .598/.424/.786 shooting in his first five games of 2025. It hasn’t led to any movement on the trade front though, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who checks in on where things stand with LaVine and notes that it will probably be hard for Chicago to trade the two-time All-Star until there’s more clarity on what’s happening with Butler.
- Speaking to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, veteran center Jonas Valanciunas admitted it has been a “very tough” season in Washington, where the Wizards have an NBA-worst 6-30 record. “I want to win,” he said. “But the situation is what it is, and while I’m in it, I have to do everything I can to improve it. … Winning teams don’t become like that overnight.” Although he’s in the first season of a three-year contract, Valanciunas is considered a candidate to be dealt out of D.C. ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. He told Urbonas that he’s only focused on what he can control on the court. “The agents’, general managers’, and team presidents’ jobs are off the court,” the big man said. “I leave everything to them.”
Central Notes: Cunningham, Pistons, Haliburton, Williams, Dosunmu
Pistons star Cade Cunningham is guiding the team to winning ways after a slow start to the season and a franchise-worst year in 2023/24. As Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports writes, Cunningham is embracing the challenge that comes with being the Pistons’ franchise centerpiece and has shown a willingness to take the blame when things aren’t going right for the team.
“You don’t get that out of many old guys, right? Like, there’s not many people in this league that are willing to accept responsibility for the total right for the whole group,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You know, you deal with a lot of people now, the easiest thing to do is either shy away from it or put it on somebody else. And I think that speaks to his courage.”
In 34 games, Cunningham is averaging 24.3 points, 9.3 assists and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 45.7% from the field and 37.6% from beyond the arc, all of which are career bests. The Pistons are 19-19, having already won five more games than they did all of last season.
“[It’s] something that comes with being, you know, ‘the guy,’” Cunningham said. “Everybody calls me ‘the guy.’ It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of … I mean, people would call it pressure, but, you know, I have to deliver, and I haven’t done that to the level that I wanted to.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons‘ recent turnaround is helping remove some of the ‘dark clouds’ surrounding the franchise, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. “It’s huge, man,” Jalen Duren said. “It’s huge. The vets that came in, I’m not gonna say they don’t understand it, but they weren’t here. Guys who’ve been here … the guys who have been through the ups and downs of our short career, and now getting here and being .500 is huge.“
- Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton started to let some of the outside noise regarding his play affect him, leading to early-season struggles for both the fifth-year point guard and the team, Jared Weiss and Sam Amick of The Athletic write. “It was the first time in my life that I had real self-doubt behind everything I was doing,” Haliburton said. “… I feel like my personal struggles were leading to the team’s struggles.” Returning from an injury too soon last season and re-aggravating it impacted his play. The Pacers’ floor general is starting to turn it around, averaging 20.4 points and 9.9 assists per game and shooting 41.3% from three as the team has won 11 of its past 14 games.
- The Bulls are “still searching for answers” as to how to best utilize forward Patrick Williams, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Williams, the fourth overall pick in 2020, is averaging 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest this season, in line with his career figures.
- Chicago is optimistic that guard Ayo Dosunmu will be able to return from his Achilles injury at some point during the Bulls‘ five-game home stand, although it’s unlikely he’ll play on Sunday, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Dosunmu, who is averaging 12.6 PPG and 4.8 APG, has missed the last eight games with the injury.
Central Notes: Cunningham, LaVine, Vucevic, Bryant, Horton-Tucker, Middleton
The surprising Pistons have won five straight games heading into their matchup against Golden State on Thursday. After his team defeated the Nets on Wednesday, Cade Cunningham told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic that it’s just the start of the franchise’s turnaround.
“It feels good,” said Cunningham, who signed a maximum-salary rookie scale extension last summer. “We’re still hungry though, man. We’re not satisfied. It is a satisfying feeling, but we’re not satisfied at all.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Bulls may be looking to deal Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic but their head coach believes both players should receive All-Star consideration despite the team’s mediocre record, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “You get a chance to see those guys play every night and there’s no question in my mind, just based on what these guys have performed through – whatever it is 35 or 36 games – they have performed at an All-Star level,” Billy Donovan said. “Both of those two have. I think the stats will back that up.” LaVine and Vucevic are the team’s top scorers, averaging a combined 43.5 points per game.
- With Myles Turner sidelined by an illness, Thomas Bryant pumped in a season-high 22 points with eight rebounds in the Pacers’ win over Chicago on Wednesday. “He was great,” coach Rick Carlisle told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “He played efficient. He played smart. He seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. He had a couple of important putbacks in key moments of the game. He brings a real positive energy just as a person out there too along with being a heck of a player. … I don’t know that we win the game without him.” Bryant was traded by Miami to Indiana in mid-December.
- Talen Horton-Tucker‘s veteran’s minimum contract with the Bulls becomes fully guaranteed on Friday. Horton-Tucker – who has received steady rotation minutes, appearing in 30 games off the bench and averaging 6.3 points – says he’s grateful that he’ll be sticking around. “It’s a blessing to be here the rest of the season,” he said, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). “I’m excited to get to work and hope to be here as long as possible.”
- Bucks forward Khris Middleton believes that his reserve role is only temporary, he told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I mean, I know what type of player I am,” he said. “Just for the time being I need to come off the bench. It is what it is. But I’m confident in this team, I’m confident in myself and this is the role I have to play for the time being.” Coach Doc Rivers says it has more to do with Middleton’s health than anything else. “He’s not starting (Wednesday), but more just the minute thing,” Rivers said. “He keeps getting the tendinitis (in his ankle). It’s just not improving to the place he wants it or we want it. So we’re just going to monitor and cut his minutes back a little bit and try to makes sure he can get through this.”
Ayo Dosunmu Getting Closer To Returning
- Before hosting the Bulls tonight, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle talked about the offseason loss of Jalen Smith in free agency, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. He said the organization was hoping to keep Smith, but couldn’t compete with the offer he got from Chicago. “We wanted him back but we were limited as to how much we could pay him,” Carlisle said. “… He had a very good year and he had a great second year for us that set him up for the Bulls. This was an opportunity he had to take because of the financial aspect.”
- Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu has made significant improvement with his strained lower right calf, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Coach Billy Donovan said Dosunmu has started running on a treadmill and is “getting closer and closer to playing.”
Central Notes: Mobley, Cavs, Bulls, Giannis, Pistons
Fourth-year big man Evan Mobley is having the best season of his career for the 31-4 Cavaliers and making a strong case for All-Star consideration, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only article. The Cavs have an eye-popping +16.0 net rating when Mobley is on the court, compared to a team-worst +4.4 mark when he sits.
“He has taken that step,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said of his teammate. “Everyone has been asking and he has taken that step. It’s beautiful to see. This is the worst that Evan is going to be and it’s not too shabby. He’s an All-Star. He will be in San Francisco in February.”
Speaking to Grant Afseth of RG.org, Cavaliers forward Georges Niang agreed with Mitchell’s assessment, comparing Mobley’s skill set to that of Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett. While Niang raved about Mobley’s evolution, he argued that there are actually four Cavaliers – Mitchell, Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen – who deserve to be at All-Star weekend in San Francisco.
“When are we going to celebrate winning? These guys sacrifice stats to help us win,” Niang told Afseth. “This isn’t an individual sport, but All-Star is an individual accolade. Donovan, Evan, Darius, and J.A. are All-Stars. Sharing the wealth and being team players doesn’t diminish what they’re capable of.”
In an interesting and wide-ranging conversation with Afseth, Niang also spoke about Mitchell’s commitment to Cleveland, making it clear that the five-time All-Star was exhibiting that commitment to the franchise well before he signed a multiyear extension during the 2024 offseason.
“Donovan is making this his home,” Niang said. “He even called Max (Strus) and me during (2023) free agency to bring us here. When your star player wants to be here and recruit others, it creates something special.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Addressing the Bulls‘ potential trade deadline plans, head coach Billy Donovan reiterated on Monday that the front office is considering everything and that nothing appears imminent, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Donovan also shared one tenet of his current roster-building philosophy. “If we want to continue playing (a fast-paced style), you can’t have eight guys,” Donovan said. “There’s no way you can sustain playing that way, that fast. So instead of (focusing on adding) one guy or two guys, how do we build out where there’s 10 or 12 guys? (Then) if you lose a guy, you’re not taking this huge hit. That’s what I’ve shared with them in terms of what I’ve thought.”
- Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a laceration on his right pinky finger during Monday’s game, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Head coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the game that the issue “definitely” seemed to be affecting Antetokounmpo’s ball-handling, but the two-time MVP stayed in the game and downplayed the issue after getting stitched up. “I’m fine,” he said. “My finger’s kind of numb but I’m fine. I played the second half but I’m fine. Just stitches. I’m not going to overthink about it.”
- The two-way contracts that Ron Harper Jr. and Tolu Smith signed with the Pistons are both for two years, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. If they’re not waived or promoted before the end of their respective deals, Harper and Smith would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2026.
Central Notes: Cavs, Garland, Vucevic, Giannis, Bucks, Johnson
With a 31-4 mark, the Cavaliers are tied for the fifth-best start in league history through 35 games. However, they’re not chasing regular season records. Guard Darius Garland told Joe Vardon of The Athletic that his main focus is how well they do in the postseason.
“I really don’t think it will (ever) become important (to chase regular season history),” Garland said. “We all know what it’s like to win regular games. Our next step is to go to the Eastern Conference finals, go to the finals. I mean, the regular season is super cool, it’s like a ramp-up for what we’re trying to get to. If we’re on that pace, keep trying to win games, there’s nothing you take for granted. We’ll take it for sure, we love it, but our next step is to win playoff games.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is considered one of the most likely players to be dealt before next month’s deadline. He told Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune that he tries to ignore all the chatter. “This time of year, it’s part of it,” Vucevic said. “You can’t get caught up into that stuff. I’ve heard rumors ever since I was in Orlando. Everybody knows it and that’s just how it goes. Everybody online is going to have their opinions.”
- Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo battled an illness recently and he says he’s still trying to regain his strength, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Think about it like a savings account. Now I’m in the minus,” he said. ” So, I’ve gotta keep building. I’ve gotta build my body, gotta get some weights, gotta get some food in me, gotta get some cardio in me to go back to the positive and be able to compete, because I’m digging myself into a hole right now.”
- The Bucks have dropped six games to sub-.500 teams and they’re growing weary of their mediocre play, Nehm writes in the same story. “What’s not happening is we’re getting off to bad starts,” coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re not moving the ball. We’re not playing right. We’ve gotta play right. We’ve done that. We’ve gotta get back to doing it.”
- Pacers 37-year-old big man James Johnson signed a one-year, $3.3MM veteran’s minimum contract in July that had a $750K guarantee. Johnson has only appeared in five games and Indiana would have to waive him by Tuesday to prevent the contract from being fully guaranteed. However, that’s not going to happen, according to coach Rick Carlisle. “He’s not going anywhere. We need him,” Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Stein’s Latest: Johnson, Vucevic, Poeltl, Brown, Olynyk, Ball
The Nets have already dealt Dennis Schröder, Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. Could forward Cameron Johnson be next?
Citing league sources, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article that the Pacers are a team to watch in terms of Johnson’s next destination. Brooklyn is looking to clear as much salary as possible for the offseason and Johnson is in the second year of a four-year, $94.5MM contract.
Johnson, who is averaging career highs in points (19.5) and assists (3.0) per game, could fortify the Pacers at the wing position. The Grizzlies have also been mentioned as a likely Johnson suitor, though Stein notes that they might not be inclined to deal with the Nets. Memphis had extensive talks with the Nets regarding Finney-Smith before he was dealt to the Lakers and there were said to be “hard feelings” between the two teams about how those discussions played out.
The Kings have held trade talks with the Nets regarding Johnson, but aren’t willing to part with rookie guard Devin Carter, who made his NBA debut on Friday after recovering from a shoulder injury.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Raptors have turned aside inquiries regarding center Jakob Poeltl, Stein reports. The big man is averaging career-bests in both scoring (15.4 PPG) and rebounding (10.7 RPG) and is signed through at least 2026, with a player option for ’26/27. Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk are considered the veterans that Toronto is most open to trading prior to the February deadline.
- While it’ll be difficult to move Zach LaVine‘s contract, the Bulls are expected to deal center Nikola Vucevic and possibly Lonzo Ball prior to the deadline, says Stein. Vucevic is averaging 2o.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, while Ball is on an expiring contract and has made a respectable comeback from his long-term knee issues. As Stein notes, the Bulls have incentive to tank. If they finish with the league’s sixth-worst record or below, it’ll guarantee that they’ll hold onto their pick in this year’s June draft. Chicago owes a top-10 protected pick to San Antonio.
Bulls To Retire Derrick Rose’s No. 1 Jersey In 2025/26
The Bulls will retire Derrick Rose‘s No. 1 jersey during the 2025/26 season, the team announced in a press release. The news came ahead of Saturday’s “Derrick Rose Night” in Chicago.
“Derrick is both a hometown hero and a symbol of an entire era of Bulls basketball,” said chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “Retiring a jersey recognizes a player’s impact beyond on-court achievements. It honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the organization and forged deep, lasting connections with fans. It recognizes that emotional bond and the great influence a player has had on the team and organization’s identity.”
Rose, who retired as a player in late September, spent eight seasons with Chicago, his hometown team. As Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune noted in October, no Bulls player has worn No. 1 since Rose departed the team in 2016. Starting next season, his jersey will hang in the rafters of the United Center.
Rose told ESPN’s Shams Charania in an interview on Thursday that he “would love” to have his jersey retired by the organization.
Chicago selected Rose with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2009 and was named an All-Star in each of his next three seasons, winning the MVP award in 2011. Over the course of that season, his third in the NBA at age 22, he averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game across 81 starts, leading the Bulls to a league-best 62-20 record.
The fact that Rose won the MVP award while still on his rookie scale contract resulted in an NBA rule being unofficially named after him. As we’ve outlined in a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry, the “Derrick Rose rule” allows players coming off their rookie deals to sign maximum-salary contracts worth up to 30% of the salary cap instead of the typical 25% if they’ve earned a major award such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or All-NBA.
However, Rose’s career hit a snag following his first four seasons in Chicago, as he missed the entire 2012/13 season due to an ACL tear and only played in 10 games in ’13/14 as he continued to recover from that injury.
Overall, Rose averaged 19.7 PPG, 6.2 APG and 3.7 RPG in 406 regular season games with the Bulls. His shooting slash line was .448/.302/.813.
Rose, 36, will be the fifth former Bull to have his jersey retired, joining Jerry Sloan (No. 4), Bob Love (No. 10), Michael Jordan (No. 23) and Scottie Pippen (No. 33). Chicago also has banners honoring former head coach Phil Jackson and former GM Jerry Krause.