Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Williams, Haliburton, Fontecchio, Grimes

February 15th, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls forward Patrick Williams hasn’t played since Jan. 25 due to a left foot injury. He’s also dealt with a right ankle injury while missing a total of 12 games this season.

Coach Billy Donovan hinted that Williams, a restricted free agent after the season, needs to give the team’s medical staff a heads-up if he’s not feeling 100 percent.

“I think Patrick has got to get better at when he has ailments and issues, not that he’s not getting treatment, but sometimes – and I’m not saying that this was the issue – but he’s got to really make sure that he’s not taking himself to a point where he’s putting himself in harm’s way health-wise,” Donovan said, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Williams’ hasn’t had any setbacks regarding his current injury but his return depends on his ramp-up activity, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. He doesn’t have discomfort walking at this time but it’s unlikely he’d play against Boston, Chicago’s first game out of the All-Star break, Johnson adds (Twitter links).

We have more from the Central Division:

Tyrese Haliburton believes the Pacers can reach the Eastern Conference Finals, and perhaps even represent the conference in the NBA Finals. “I have no doubt in my mind that we can be a conference finals team, no doubt in my mind that we have that capability,” he told Marc J. Spears in an Andscape interview. “And again, I don’t even want to say that because I don’t want to put a limit on it. I think that teams already know when they see us it’s not a walk in the park. That was established last [season] with the way we played. And now add another guy like Pascal (Siakam) and with the success that I’m having and the success that everybody on our team is really having this year, it ain’t a walk in the park at all.”
The Pistons enter the All-Star break with eight victories in 54 gamse. After the Pistons made numerous trades before the deadline, James Edwards III of The Athletic believes that the impact of acquisitions Simone Fontecchio and Quentin Grimes will be one of the top storylines to follow in Detroit for the rest of the season.
As for the Bulls, Johnson takes a look at the reasons for optimism and pessimism heading into the second half of the season. Chicago currently holds a play-in spot.

And-Ones: 2024 Offseason, Vegas, Mudiay, Forbes, More

February 15th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA had a busy trade deadline, but there were no blockbuster deals completed last week, with role players like Buddy Hield, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Gordon Hayward among the biggest names who were on the move. However, according to Howard Beck of The Ringer, executives around the league are expecting more fireworks during the 2024 offseason.

“There will be a lot of parts moved this offseason,” one Eastern Conference executive told Beck. “There’s going to be some options, some high-level guys that ask to get moved.”

As Beck writes, this spring’s playoff results could have a significant impact on what the trade market looks like this offseason. If a team with expectations of a deep playoff run gets bounced early, rival executives will be watching closely to see if that team’s stars have a wandering eye. The Lakers (LeBron James), Suns (Kevin Durant), and Cavaliers (Donovan Mitchell) are among the examples Beck provides, with one exec predicting that “there’s no doubt” Mitchell leaves Cleveland at the end of his current contract in 2025.

There will also be franchises with increasingly expensive rosters who may begin to feel pressure to make a move to generate more financial flexibility or to avoid committing to a pricey luxury tax bill, Beck notes, identifying the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Pelicans as some of the teams that rivals will be monitoring.

Beck is also the latest reporter to say that executives around the NBA believe Trae Young‘s name will pop up in trade rumors this offseason. One Western Conference exec told Beck, “I think they would love to trade Trae,” while another said the Hawks discussed a potential Young deal with the Spurs prior to last Thursday’s deadline.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Appearing on ESPN on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver once again stated that Las Vegas is “definitely on our list” of markets that will receive consideration for the next round of expansion, according to The Associated Press. “We want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like but then we will turn to expansion,” Silver said.
Former NBA lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay has signed with Piratas de Quebradillas, according to an Instagram post from the Puerto Rican team. Mudiay, who also played in Puerto Rico’s BSN league last season for Cangrejeros de Santurce, was the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft and has appeared in over 300 NBA games, most recently with Sacramento in 2021/22.
Former NBA sharpshooter Bryn Forbes has been arrested on a family violence charge, per an Associated Press report. Forbes, who was also arrested last February following a domestic incident, was jailed on Tuesday in San Antonio on a charge of assaulting a family member by choking/strangulation, which is considered a third-degree felony. The 30-year-old hasn’t been in the NBA since he was waived by Minnesota a year ago.
With G League Ignite prospect Ron Holland unable to participate in All-Star weekend due to a thumb injury, the NBA has announced that Cavaliers two-way forward Emoni Bates will replace him in the Rising Stars game (press release) and that Bulls two-way center Adama Sanogo will take his place in the G League Up Next game (Twitter link).

Central Notes: Stewart, Eubanks, C. Porter, Dosunmu, Terry

February 14th, 2024 at 10:40pm CST by Rory Maher

During Wednesday’s game vs. Phoenix, the Pistons released a statement regarding the pregame incident between forward/center Isaiah Stewart and Suns center Drew Eubanks.

“We are aware of the incident between Isaiah Stewart and Drew Eubanks prior to this evening’s game. We are in the process of gathering information about what happened and what provoked it, and responding to the NBA and local authorities.”

Eubanks was punched in the face by Stewart after arriving at the Footprint Center. He said he was OK and called it a “soft punch,” per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Eubanks played in the game, while Stewart remains sidelined with a sprained ankle.

Here’s more from the Central:

Craig Porter Jr.‘s new four-year contract with the Cavaliers will pay him a guaranteed $1.5MM in 2023/24, nearly tripling the salary of his old two-way deal, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Porter’s base salary for ’24/25 is $1.9MM, with $1MM in guaranteed money. However, years three ($2.2MM) and four ($2.4MM) are fully non-guaranteed, with no special trigger dates beyond the league-wide guarantee date of January 7. The final season — ’26/27 — is a team option, Marks adds.
Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu had a stellar performance in Tuesday’s win over Atlanta, scoring a career-high 29 points (on 12-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three) and dishing out seven assists while playing terrific defense on Trae Young, who finished just 3-of-14 from the field, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Dosumnu has become a much more consistent offensive threat of late, averaging 15.9 PPG on .592/.525/.773 shooting over in the 14 games (32.3 MPG) leading up to Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland. “He’s got incredible stamina and endurance,” head coach Billy Donovan said, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “It’s a skill. [Udonis] Haslem had it. Joakim [Noah] had it. The more fatigued and tired they get, the more stubborn they get and the more competitive and the more they push. He’s got that in him. He can keep his motor running high. For him to do what he did offensively and then to play the defense he did was a pretty remarkable performance with the number of minutes he got.”
Second-year wing Dalen Terry has received rotation minutes for the Bulls in 2023/24 due to injuries to Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig (Craig has since returned), and while his performances have been uneven, he says the speed of the NBA game is starting to slow down for him, Johnson writes for NBC Sports Chicago. “This season I feel I improved a lot on my discipline, just realizing that sometimes my fouling gets me out of the game,” Terry said. “My confidence level is just so much different than it was last year. … My rookie year, sometimes I was out there and I was like, ‘Man, everything is going so fast.’ It just happened. Now I can see stuff happen before it happens. That’s been the easiest part to me.” Terry, 21, was the 18th pick of the 2022 draft.

Lakers Rumors: LeBron, Knicks, Bronny, Murray, LaVine, More

February 14th, 2024 at 8:59pm CST by Rory Maher

At the end of last month, Lakers forward LeBron James sent out an hourglass emoji on social media that led to plenty of speculation — and eventually an unsuccessful trade pursuit by the Warriors. Later that week in New York, James made some not-so-subtle comments about his love for playing in Madison Square Garden and said he considered signing with the Knicks as a free agent in 2010.

While James may have been attempting to put pressure on L.A.’s front office by using New York as leverage, the Knicks haven’t had any internal discussions about pursuing him this summer, a league source tells Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

As The Athletic’s authors explain, the Knicks won’t have cap room in free agency to make a run at James if he declines his $51.4MM player option, and shedding salaries would mean parting with important rotation players. The Knicks view that possibility as a “serious setback to their long-term plan.”

Los Angeles, meanwhile, has no desire to trade James, and wants him to retire a Laker, multiple team sources tell The Athletic. For his part, James recently informed the team’s brass he wants to stay, per The Athletic’s report.

Here’s more on the Lakers, all from Amick, Slater and Buha:

Rival executives have become “increasingly convinced” that the 39-year-old superstar may want out of L.A., and view drafting his son Bronny James as something of a starting point to pursuing LeBron, according to The Athletic’s trio. James has spoken many times over the years about his desire to play in the NBA with his son. The Lakers are also open to the possibility of adding Bronny to keep LeBron happy, as that’s a priority for the organization, a high-ranking team source tells the authors.
According to The Athletic, James has long been in favor of adding a star-level ball-handler in the backcourt — hence 2021 trade for Russell Westbrook, which obviously worked out poorly. James pushed the front office to pursue Kyrie Irving over multiple transaction windows in the past, and supported the idea of trading for Dejounte Murray (Hawks) or Zach LaVine (Bulls) — two fellow Klutch clients — prior to this season’s deadline, sources tell Amick, Slater and Buha.
The Lakers will have three first-round picks available to trade this summer after standing pat at the deadline — either 2024 or 2025 (New Orleans can acquire this year’s pick or defer it to next year), plus 2029 and 2031. As Buha previously reported, L.A. would ideally like to use those draft assets for Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Trae Young (Hawks) or Irving (Mavericks), though it’s unclear how many of those players – if any – will actually be available on the trade market this offseason. For what it’s worth, rival teams have been speculating that Atlanta might be willing to part with Young after holding onto Murray at the deadline.

Giannis: Doc Holding Us To High Standard

February 13th, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls signed guard Jevon Carter to a three-year, $19.5MM contract last summer but he’s played a much smaller role than anticipated, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes. “They don’t really have too much to say about it,” Carter said of the coaching staff’s reasons for not playing him more often. “It’s just the NBA. That’s how it goes. All I can do is keep working and be ready for whenever my name is called. And that’s what I’m going to do.” Carter has appeared in 51 games off the bench, averaging 13.8 minutes per night. He averaged 22.4 MPG while playing 81 regular season games with Milwaukee last season.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Langdon, Brand, Heat, Capela, Okongwu

February 13th, 2024 at 8:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Mitch Kupchak shifting to an advisory role, the Hornets are seeking a lead executive with previous experience, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer reports. Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and Sixers GM Elton Brand are considered the early frontrunners to replace Kupchak, Boone adds.

Charlotte is likely to hire both a president of basketball operations and a GM, according to Boone, who also lists Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton, Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson and Knicks assistant GM Frank Zanin as potential candidates for the lead executive job.

Bulls GM Marc Eversley is another name under consideration, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat have won four of their last six games, following a seven-game losing streak. A team meeting in late January helped to turn their fortunes, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Numerous players spoke up, as well as coach Erik Spoelstra. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Heat swingman Duncan Robinson said of the team’s improved play. “If there’s anything I’ve learned during my time in the NBA, it’s that a big part of playing well is not necessarily about Xs and Os, but putting your own whatever sort of things you’re going through aside and just giving into the team. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
The Hawks’ top two centers are banged up heading into the All-Star break, according to a team press release. Clint Capela is showing progress in his rehab from a left adductor strain but he’ll be listed as out for Wednesday’s game at Charlotte. He’s expected to return to practice following the All-Star break. Onyeka Okongwu left Monday’s game against Chicago late in the fourth quarter with a left big toe injury. Okongwu underwent an MRI on Tuesday and has been diagnosed with a left big toe sprain. He’ll be re-evaluated in seven-to-10 days.
In case you missed it, there’s an update on Miles Bridges‘ latest legal situation.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 13th, 2024 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of free agent signings have been finalized in the days since last Thursday’s trade deadline, but there are still many teams around the NBA with one or more open spots on their respective rosters.

For clubs with just a single standard or two-way opening, there’s not necessarily any urgency to fill those spots, especially ahead of the All-Star break. But the clock is ticking for teams who have two or more openings on their standard rosters to make a move, since clubs are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time.

With the help of our roster count tracker, here’s where things stand for all 30 teams around the NBA as of Tuesday afternoon. As a reminder, teams are typically permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

(Note: Teams marked with an asterisk have a player on a 10-day contract.)

Teams with multiple open roster spots

Brooklyn Nets
- Note: One of the Nets’ roster openings is a two-way slot.
Golden State Warriors
Milwaukee Bucks
- Note: Both of the Bucks’ roster openings are two-way slots.
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks *
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns

The Warriors, Timberwolves, and Pelicans are all currently carrying 13 players on standard, full-season contracts, with all three of their two-way slots filled. That means they’ll have to add a 14th man at some point in the not-too-distant future to adhere to the NBA’s minimum roster requirements.

Golden State and Minnesota made trades on February 8 that dropped them below 14 players, so those two teams have until Feb. 22 to add a player. New Orleans’ deadline is coming a little earlier, since the club dipped to 13 when Malcolm Hill‘s 10-day contract expired on Feb. 6.

No roster moves are required for the Nets and Bucks, as both teams have at least 14 players on standard contracts, with one or more two-way openings. I’d expect Brooklyn and Milwaukee to fill those two-way slots before the two-way signing deadline in early March, though they don’t necessarily have to.

The Knicks and Sixers currently only have 12 players on standard, full-season contracts. New York also has Taj Gibson on a 10-day deal, while Philadelphia is poised to sign Kyle Lowry to a rest-of-season contract. Both teams will need to make at least one more roster move by Feb. 22 after dipping down to 12 players on trade deadline day last Thursday.

As for the Suns, they’re currently carrying just 13 players on standard contracts, but it sounds like they’ve already lined up a deal with a 14th man — a report earlier today indicated that they’re preparing to sign Thaddeus Young.

Teams with one open roster spot

Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers *
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

One of the 14 players on the Cavaliers‘ standard roster is Zhaire Smith, who is on a 10-day deal. Once his contract expires next week, the Cavs will have to either re-sign him or add another 14th man — and they’ll have to do it right away.

In addition to being prohibited from carrying fewer than 14 players on standard deals for more than two weeks at a time, NBA teams are limited to 28 days of carrying fewer than 14 players over the course of a season. The Cavs have already reached that 28-day limit, having carried just 13 players from January 4-18 and again from January 28 until February 11.

The rest of these teams have 14-man standard rosters with no two-way openings, meaning there’s no urgency for them to make any moves, though they’ll likely fill those open roster slots at some point between now and the end of the season in April.

Teams with no open roster spots

Atlanta Hawks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons *
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies *
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers *
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors *

Twelve of these 13 teams have full 18-man rosters, with 15 players signed to standard contracts and three to two-way deals. However, the Pistons, Trail Blazers, and especially the Raptors are worth monitoring here, since they all have players on 10-day contracts and can open up roster spots when those deals expire.

Detroit and Portland are each carrying a single player on a 10-day deal, while Toronto has two, meaning the Raptors will dip down to 13 players on standard contracts during the All-Star break. They’ll have up to two weeks to get back to 14.

The Grizzlies are actually carrying 19 players at the moment, with 16 players on standard contracts (15 full-season deals, plus Jordan Goodwin on a 10-day) because they’ve been granted a hardship exception due to all the injured players they’re missing.

Bulls Were Interested In Lowry

February 12th, 2024 at 7:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls had some interest in signing Kyle Lowry after he was bought out by Charlotte, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, but Lowry chose to sign with the Sixers. Chicago could still sign another player via the buyout market. ‘‘If there’s someone who has an interest or [the front office feels] like it would be a good fit, they’ll bring me in and we’d probably get on the phone with the player,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘But as of right now, nothing has moved forward in terms of any plans.”

Kyle Lowry Bought Out By Hornets, Plans To Sign With Sixers

February 11th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 11: Lowry’s buyout is now official and he has been waived, the Hornets have announced (Twitter link). He’ll become a free agent on Tuesday and will be able to sign with Philadelphia at that time.

FEBRUARY 10: Kyle Lowry has reached a buyout agreement with the Hornets, agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Lowry intends to sign with the Sixers once he clears waivers, Wojnarowski adds.

It will be a homecoming for Lowry, who grew up in Philadelphia and played at Villanova, Wojnarowski states (Twitter link). The move will also reunite Lowry with Nick Nurse, his long-time coach in Toronto.

A video announcing Lowry’s decision was posted on Twitter by Priority Sports.

The Sixers will pay Lowry $2.8MM for the rest of the season, Bartelstein tells Woj (Twitter link). The team is $4.9MM below the tax threshold and has nearly $10MM of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception remaining, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. He adds that Lowry was still owed about $10.61MM left of his $29.7MM salary for 2023/24 before the buyout.

In a full story on Lowry’s decision, Wojnarowski identifies the Bulls and Pelicans as other teams that had interest in signing Lowry after a buyout.

Lowry had been expected to pursue a buyout in Charlotte ever since Miami sent him there in a January 23 trade involving Terry Rozier. Lowry never played for the Hornets, and he will have been off for more than a month if he doesn’t suit up for the Sixers before the All-Star break.

The 37-year-old point guard started 35 of the 37 games he appeared in with the Heat this season, but his playing time dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade and his numbers were down across the board. Lowry was averaging 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 28 minutes per night.

He will bring a veteran presence with plenty of playoff experience to the Sixers, who have been reeling since Joel Embiid was lost with a knee injury. Philadelphia only has 12 players on its 15-man roster in the wake of the trade deadline, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to add Lowry. His departure leaves Charlotte with one roster opening.

Bulls Notes: DeRozan, Drummond, Buyout Market, Donovan

February 11th, 2024 at 1:22pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Signs continue to point toward Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan agreeing to a contract extension with the franchise in the offseason, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson (Twitter video link). This comes on the heels of both sides expressing interest in a long-term pairing earlier this week.

Johnson says if the Bulls knew DeRozan was going to walk in the offseason, they would have tried acquiring something of value from him at the deadline. Instead, Chicago stood pat, while DeRozan likened the pairing to a marriage in comments to reporters on Thursday.

While Johnson points out that DeRozan has made similar comments in the past, it’s especially potent this time given the fact they came at the deadline. The Bulls can’t afford to let him leave for nothing and Johnson doesn’t expect them to. Chicago faced a similar situation last season with Nikola Vucevic and they ultimately extended him.

Of course, this doesn’t automatically mean DeRozan is going to re-up with the Bulls. He remains on track to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason and while he’s 34 years old, he still has averaged 25.3 points per game and has two All-Star appearances since arriving in Chicago. He’s likely to have several suitors. Still, the team that makes the most sense for now to offer a multiyear, big-money extension is the Bulls.

We have more notes on the Bulls:

Despite drawing trade interest, Andre Drummond remained a Bull through the deadline. In recent games, head coach Billy Donovan has leaned more into dual big-man lineups, playing Drummond and Vucevic alongside one another. Drummond is enjoying that pairing, Johnson writes. “We’re trying something different and adjusting to what we want to do, not what the other team is doing,” Drummond said. “We’re a force together in the paint. We make teams have to deal with us at both ends of the court. I really like that lineup and I’m looking forward to more of it.” Drummond is averaging 9.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per night since Jan. 1 and drew a start next to Vucevic against the Timberwolves on Feb. 6.
The Bulls were heavily involved in last season’s buyout market, expressing interest in Russell Westbrook before eventually signing Patrick Beverley, who helped the team finish 14-9 and win a play-in game. Johnson writes that the Bulls are once again open to exploring that avenue to add talent after not making any trade acquisitions. Thaddeus Young, Danilo Gallinari, Evan Fournier and Danuel House are among the possibilities Johnson points out. Joe Harris is also available.
Donovan expressed that he was thankful the trade deadline was in the rear view mirror, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “‘For me, I wouldn’t necessarily use the word ‘relief,’” Donovan said. “I’ve always taken the approach, ‘This is our team.’ Now, if it changes, then you have to adjust. I think when you start speculating, you lose sight of the group that you have in front of you because those decisions are not decisions you necessarily have control over. For me, it wasn’t like the trade deadline passed, and I was like, ‘Oh, wow, what a relief this was.’” Chicago is currently 25-28 and ninth in the Eastern Conference.