Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Sign Alfonzo McKinnie To Second 10-Day Deal

December 20th, 2021 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

12:57pm: The Bulls have officially re-signed McKinnie to a second 10-day contract, the team announced (via Twitter).

That answers our question about whether McKinnie’s initial 10-day deal would be extended by a day to cover a third game — it seems it won’t be. His new contract will run through December 29, covering Chicago’s next five games (barring any additional postponements).

11:47am: The Bulls will re-sign forward Alfonzo McKinnie to a second 10-day contract after adding him via a hardship exception earlier in the month, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McKinnie logged 29 minutes in his first game as a Bull on December 11 and played 17 more minutes in the team’s win over the Lakers on Sunday. The 29-year-old spent last season with the Lakers, but was waived in August with two non-guaranteed years left on his contract. He got into 39 games for L.A. and averaged 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per night.

Before catching on with Chicago, McKinnie had been playing this season for the Mexico City Capitanes, scoring 24.1 PPG and shooting 43.3% from three-point range for the G League’s newest team.

McKinnie signed his first 10-day contract on December 10, which means it should have expired overnight on Sunday. However, due to a pair of postponements, the Bulls only played two games during those 10 days. Typically, a 10-day contract must cover a minimum of three games, but it’s unclear if that rule still applies in this unprecedented scenario.

If McKinnie’s first 10-day deal is automatically extended to include a third game, he could sign his second 10-day deal on Tuesday or Wednesday. If not, he’ll sign that second contract later on Monday in order to be active for tonight’s game.

The Bulls, who had 10 players in the health and safety protocols at one point, remain shorthanded — half of those players are still in the protocols.

Central Notes: White, DeRozan, Caruso, Carlisle, Pangos

December 18th, 2021 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

While COVID-19 disrupts rosters across the league, the Bulls are starting to get healthier, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports. Coby White, DeMar DeRozan and Javonte Green all cleared protocols this week and are expected to play Sunday against the Lakers. Derrick Jones Jr. left the protocols today and Matt Thomas is getting close, although he remains doubtful for Sunday.

White and DeRozan both said their symptoms were mild and agreed that their main issue was “boredom” while being away from the team. White, who was the first Chicago player to enter the protocols on December 1, said his experience was no worse than strep throat and the symptoms went away in two or three days. DeRozan tested positive five days after White, learning the news after a morning shootaround.

“It was one of those things, mixture of everything,” DeRozan said. “Frustration of not being able to go out there and play, trying to figure out why I don’t feel nothing, nothing’s wrong, how long I’m going to be out. Just a mixture of a lot of emotions. But at the end of the day, I just was like, ‘I’ve got to deal with it, something I’ve got to deal with,’ and went from there.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

The two Bulls games that were postponed this week provided some benefits for the team, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Alex Caruso, who has been dealing with a sore right hamstring, is now fully recovered, according to coach Billy Donovan, and some players who had been seeing heavy minutes got a chance to rest. “Lonzo (Ball) kind of stands out,” Donovan said. “Zach (LaVine) is in health and safety protocols, but he was a guy that was logging a lot of minutes as well. So hopefully it gives those guys an opportunity to get their bodies a chance to recover some.”
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who tested positive for COVID-19 10 days ago, should be ready to return for Tuesday’s game, assistant Lloyd Pierce told James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Pierce has filled in for Carlisle during his four-game absence.
In an interview with Dionysis Aravantinos of HoopsHype, Cavaliers guard Kevin Pangos talks about adjusting to the NBA after playing six years in Europe.

Bulls To Practice Saturday

December 17th, 2021 at 9:51pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bulls will be able to practice on Saturday for their first official team activity in a week, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays (Twitter links). They’ve had several players in the league’s health and safety protocols over the past couple weeks, but a few, including DeMar DeRozan, have returned recently. Two of their games were postponed this week due to the outbreak.

Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan Exit Protocols

December 17th, 2021 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has cleared the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and will be available for Friday’s game vs. Minnesota, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Westbrook just entered the protocols on Thursday, so his quick exit is great news for the Lakers. It sounds as if Westbrook may have registered a false positive and been cleared when he subsequently recorded multiple consecutive negative tests. The Lakers do still have a handful of players in the protocols, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley, and Kendrick Nunn.

Meanwhile, Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan has also exited the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago).

DeRozan was initially placed in the protocols back on December 6, so it seems safe to assume he actually contracted COVID-19. He may require a short ramp-up period for conditioning purposes before he clears his cardiac tests and is given the go-ahead to return to game action.

The Bulls, who had two games postponed this week, are scheduled to resume play on Sunday in Chicago vs. the Lakers. They still have seven players in the protocols for the time being.

Coby White, Javonte Green Out Of Protocols

December 16th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, that Coby White and Javonte Green are the only two players on the team who have cleared the health and safety protocols and have been conducting individual workouts. That leaves eight players in the protocols, and many of them – including Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Alize Johnson, and Troy Brown Jr. – may not be back until after Christmas, according to Donovan.

Trade Rumors: Sabonis, Kemba, Celtics, Pelicans, Magic

December 16th, 2021 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

On an episode of The Ringer’s podcast The Mismatch last week, Kevin O’Connor mentioned that Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis wants out of Indiana. The comment was made in passing and wasn’t expanded upon by O’Connor in any subsequent article or tweet, so it wasn’t clear whether it was something he was reporting or something he’d heard but hadn’t fully confirmed.

Following up on that rumor, Matt Moore of Action Network says he has also heard from multiple sources that Sabonis wants out of Indiana, adding that the big man’s desire for a change of scenery dates back to last season. However, all of Sabonis’ public comments have indicated that he’s happy to stick with the Pacers, and Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, who is plugged in with the team, called O’Connor’s initial report “false” (Twitter link).

The Pacers are reportedly open to the idea of moving Sabonis, so whether or not he wants to be dealt may ultimately be a moot point — Indiana could trade him either way.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the league:

Knicks guard Kemba Walker hasn’t generated much – if any – trade interest from rival teams, since his knees are viewed as too much of a risk, Moore reports.
Two sources who spoke to Moore suggested the Celtics are more likely to pursue a third impact player to add to their core of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, rather than breaking up the duo.
The Bulls are in the market for a wing defender who could come off the bench, says Moore.
Some executives were surprised by Jake Fischer’s report that the Pelicans could be buyers this season, since they’d gotten the impression New Orleans is more interested in long-term assets, Moore writes. Josh Hart is viewed as possibly the most likely trade candidate on the Pels’ roster, Moore adds.
Despite Mohamed Bamba‘s strong season, the Magic are considered unlikely to discuss center Wendell Carter Jr. in trades, per Moore, who notes that the team also hasn’t yet indicated that Bamba is available.
According to Moore, the Thunder are a good candidate to be a third team in a Ben Simmons trade, since Sam Presti and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey have had multiple past dealings and Oklahoma City is well positioned to take on unwanted contracts.

Windy City Bulls Out Of G League Showcase Due To Protocols

December 16th, 2021 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls‘ organization is being impacted by COVID-19 at multiple levels. Like the NBA squad, the G League’s Windy City Bulls have had their schedule affected by the health and safety protocols and won’t take part in the upcoming NBAGL Winter Showcase, the league announced in a press release.

Central Notes: Bulls, Boucek, Pistons, Lee

December 14th, 2021 at 5:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bulls have announced (Twitter link) that their next contest, scheduled to be a Sunday matinee matchup against the Lakers, has been pushed back to a later start time. The game will now tip off at 7 p.m. CT, after originally being scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. CT.

It was announced yesterday that the NBA would postpone Chicago’s two other scheduled games this week – tonight against the Pistons and Thursday night against the Raptors – after it was revealed that as many as 10 Bulls are currently in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that Coby White, Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr., and star wing DeMar DeRozan all have a chance to be cleared by the new tip-off time Sunday. It was reported over the weekend that White had returned to the Bulls’ Advocate Center practice facility for the first time since his diagnosis.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

After missing the Pacers‘ Monday loss to the Warriors, Indiana assistant coach Jenny Boucek is now in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. The first-season assistant will be replaced by Calbert Cheaney on the front of the bench, Agness adds.
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey has revealed that the NBA will examine game tape to determine which Nets players came into “close contact” with Detroit players, per James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooklyn players Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, Jevon Carter, and James Johnson are currently in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
The Pistons are optimistic that the G League play of second-year point guard Saben Lee will translate at the NBA level, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Langlois notes that the early returns have been positive, and could lead to more minutes with Detroit for Lee. “I’m just doing whatever the coaches ask me to do,” Lee said. “Up here, I know there’s a lot of scorers, a lot of shooters. Whatever coach [Casey] asks me to do, I’m going to do that. That’s how I navigate that.” Saben played with Detroit’s NBAGL club, the Motor City Cruise, for his first seven contests this season.

NBA Postpones Bulls’ Next Two Games

December 13th, 2021 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has postponed the Bulls‘ game in Chicago on Tuesday vs. the Pistons, reports Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). The league is also postponing the Bulls’ game in Toronto against the Raptors on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The Bulls have 10 players in the league’s health and safety protocols related to COVID-19. With Patrick Williams also sidelined due to a long-term wrist injury, Chicago has just eight active players. The club also has staff members and commentators in the protocols.

Typically, the NBA won’t postpone a game unless a team has fewer than eight players available, but the league is playing it safe in this instance to allow the Bulls to get a little healthier and to avoid risking further spread of COVID-19, tweets Wojnarowski.

Woj adds (via Twitter) that Chicago’s Department of Public Health was concerned about the Bulls continuing to play this week, which was a factor in the league’s decision.

Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Ayo Dosunmu, Derrick Jones Jr., Troy Brown Jr., Matt Thomas, Stanley Johnson, Alize Johnson, Coby White, and Javonte Green are the Bulls players in the protocols. White and Green are reportedly the closest to returning to action, but haven’t yet been fully cleared.

Last season, dozens of games were postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks and/or contact tracing. While a number of players have entered the league’s health and safety protocols after testing positive this season, the schedule hadn’t been affected at all until now — these are the first two postponements of the 2021/22 campaign.

Bulls’ Alize Johnson Enters Health And Safety Protocols

December 13th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

Yet another Bulls player has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that forward Alize Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Bulls are currently experiencing the league’s worst outbreak of the coronavirus this season, with 10 players in the protocols. The team only has eight healthy players available, though it’s possible Coby White and/or Javonte Green could exit the protocols and be cleared in time to play on Tuesday vs. Detroit.

The NBA typically requires teams to play their games if they have at least eight players available, so as long as the Bulls don’t enter any more players into the protocols today or tomorrow, the game vs. the Pistons may simply proceed as scheduled.

However, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (video link) says the Bulls have made an appeal to the NBA to postpone that game, which the league could consider — even if Chicago technically has eight players available, the outbreak has reached the point where a postponement may be worth it to ensure the Bulls have stopped the spread and won’t be putting another team at risk.

Besides Johnson, White, and Green, the Bulls players currently affected by the health and safety protocols are Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Ayo Dosunmu, Derrick Jones Jr., Troy Brown Jr., Matt Thomas and Stanley Johnson. Patrick Williams is also unavailable due to a wrist injury that’s expected to keep him on the shelf for the rest of the regular season.

Following Tuesday’s home game vs. Detroit, the Bulls are scheduled to play in Toronto on Thursday.