- Bulls forward Patrick Williams has gotten off to a rough start this season, but he’s not discouraged, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago relays. “They (coaches and teammates) know, obviously, I want to play well, and I want them to play well, and they want to play well for themselves as well. But just can’t get too down when you don’t play well,” he said. “Just reminding, that was what, game three? Of at least 82. Obviously we want to play past 82. But that was game three of 82.” Williams averaged 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in the first three games.
After a slow start to the season for Patrick Williams, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago thinks it’s time for Javonte Green to replace him in the Bulls‘ starting lineup.
According to Johnson, the switch would be less about the individual play of the two forwards and more about how they fit with the starters. Johnson notes that Williams’ deferential nature often means that he’s too passive playing along All-Stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, and moving him to the bench might enable him to be more assertive.
Green, meanwhile, plays with consistent energy and competitive fire, even if he’s undersized at 6’4″. He started 45 games last season in place of the injured Williams, so he has familiarity with that unit.
Green will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and Williams will be eligible for a rookie scale extension, so the 2022/23 season is a big one for both players.
Here’s more from the Central:
- The Bulls had some glaring weaknesses exposed by Cleveland during Saturday’s blowout loss, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. As Mayberry writes, the defense, consistency and energy were all lacking, which was undoubtedly disappointing for fans in the home opener. The Bulls have also struggled with outside shooting in the early going, Mayberry notes, converting just 29.3% of their three-point attempts during their 1-2 start to the season.
- The Cavaliers‘ team-first approach was on full display in the 128-96 victory over the Bulls, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he’s never been around a locker room that has embraced his “the strength of the team is the team” motto as much as his current group. “It’s the reality of it. Every night, we might not be the most talented team on the floor, but we can be the best team. We take that seriously,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s something that we try to grow every single day. It’s not something where the lights kick on and we fake it. Our guys genuinely care about each other on a level that I haven’t seen on a team before. It’s special what’s in that locker room.”
- Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to amaze teammates after scoring 44 points (on 17-of-21 shooting), pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing three assists in just 28 minutes of action during the Bucks‘ 125-105 victory over the Rockets, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I mean, you’ve run out of words to describe a guy like that, right?” Brook Lopez said. “I can’t imagine you guys actually have to write. I don’t know how you guys don’t just send in the same article over and over with the same adjectives and everything like that. Because you need some ways to just describe how his game grows. It’s tough.”
Two-time All-Star Zach LaVine will make his regular season debut on Saturday against the Cavaliers after missing the Bulls‘ first two games, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
LaVine has been dealing with left knee soreness and the issue isn’t a new one — he dealt with knee problems most of last season and had arthroscopic surgery during the offseason.
Head coach Billy Donovan said that LaVine won’t have a minutes restriction, but a substantial workload is unlikely.
“There’s no minute restriction on him, but clearly the more load there is on him, you’ll have to take a look at him,” Donovan said. “There’s nothing going into the [games] where they are saying, ‘Listen, we’ve got to keep his minutes right here.’ Certainly, him playing 40 minutes or 39 or 38 isn’t the best thing.”
According to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune, LaVine was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.
“He feels fine,” Donovan said Friday. “He was able to get work in and told me he felt good. Obviously yesterday (Thursday) was a very, very light day. He had player development guys out there guarding him, he was coming off screens, working on his ballhandling, using pick-and-rolls. He was doing his normal things. He needed a crisp workout and he was able to do that.”
After reporting to camp this fall, LaVine spoke repeatedly about how good his knee was feeling, and was able to play in three of four preseason games. However, he later stated that he and the team decided it would be best to manage the issue so he’s feeling his best at the end of the season.
LaVine, who re-signed with the Bulls on a five-year, maximum-salary deal over the summer, will be held out one game of back-to-backs for the foreseeable future, but his availability remains unclear beyond that.
“It’s hard just to go in and say, ‘OK, here’s the schedule, and here’s the games that we’re going to rest him or manage him when he’s feeling great,’” Donovan said, per Cowley. “You know if he’s feeling great, he’s obviously going to want to play, but I also think we need to be smart and [that] this is more the medical and doctors, those guys looking at, ‘OK, sometimes it’s not in that moment — it’s a cumulative effect of something happening later on.’
“There may be some times where he does feel OK and the doctors, our medical group, says, ‘OK, this is the game to rest and get yourself back.’ So I can’t tell you I’ve looked at the schedule and here are the games we know [he’ll sit].”
- After missing most of last season due to injury, Bulls forward Patrick Williams is struggling through the early portion of this season, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. Williams is trying to determine how he can make the biggest impact for his teammates. “I’ve been talking to them about it and trying to figure it out,” he said. “I’m totally confident we will. Specifically, because of the player I know I am.”
- The Bulls waived guard Carlik Jones last week but they still want him in the organization. Their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, acquired his returning player rights in a three-team trade, according to a press release.
After being ruled out for the Bulls‘ regular season opener due to “left knee management,” Zach LaVine told reporters that his absence was simply precautionary and that the left knee he underwent arthroscopic surgery on in the spring still felt fine. However, head coach Billy Donovan offered a different story when he spoke to the media, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.
“There was a lot of very, very physically demanding practices, to be quite honest with you, coming out of the Milwaukee game,” Donovan said, referring to last Tuesday’s preseason finale. “And I think after a few of those, he felt some discomfort.”
As Donovan observed, the Bulls open the season with seven games in 11 days, so they didn’t want to ride their star swingman too hard out of the gate. LaVine’s absence won’t be “a long-term thing where he’s out for weeks,” according to Chicago’s head coach, who insisted that any discomfort LaVine felt didn’t come as a surprise to the club and is part of the recovery process.
“This is not, to me, anything that is unexpected,” Donovan said. “He’s going to experience, at times, whatever word you want to use, discomfort, soreness, whatever it is.”
Here are a few more updates on health issues from around the NBA:
- Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland left Wednesday’s opener in the second quarter after getting hit in the face by Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. during a steal attempt and sustaining a left eyelid laceration, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “His head and everything was clear,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “But he was cut and bleeding pretty bad from the inside of his eyelid.” According to Fedor, there’s no clarity yet on how much time Garland might miss, but the consensus among those who saw him after the game was that the eye “looked like it was in bad shape.”
- Myles Turner‘s ankle sprain isn’t considered serious, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Wednesday’s game, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). It’s still unclear when Turner will return to action after missing Indiana’s opener on Wednesday, but it sounds like the team isn’t expecting it to be a long-term issue.
- Kings rookie forward Keegan Murray cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Wednesday and was in attendance at shootaround, though he didn’t play in the team’s season opener, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento. Murray should be ready to make his regular season debut soon, after he clears the necessary conditioning benchmarks.
Zach LaVine won’t be available for the Bulls when they open their season in Miami on Wednesday night, the team announced today (via Twitter).
LaVine is listed as out for the game due to what the team is referring to as “left knee management.” He also may be ruled out for Friday’s game in Washington, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who says the veteran guard likely won’t make his season debut until Saturday’s home opener vs. Cleveland.
LaVine’s left knee issue isn’t a new one. He dealt with it for much of last season and underwent arthroscopic surgery in the spring to address the problem. The Bulls subsequently signed the 27-year-old to a five-year, maximum-salary contract, expressing confidence that the knee wouldn’t be a long-term concern going forward.
After reporting to camp this fall, LaVine spoke repeatedly about how good his knee was feeling, and was able to play in three of four preseason games.
‘”I think that’s been the main thing, not having any aches and pains and being able to go out there and really play without any limitations in my own mind,” LaVine said after the Bulls’ preseason finale, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Like, ‘OK, I can’t go left.’ Or, ‘I might not be able to dunk on this play.’ You’re not supposed to be thinking that way when you play basketball. I dealt with that a lot last year.”
As Cowley details in a new story, LaVine gave a more cryptic explanation today when discussing the team’s decision to hold him out of its opener.
“I just want to make sure I’m safe in bringing myself back in and managing it,” LaVine said. “It’s the way it is. Just for going forward, I want to make sure I’m 100% at the end of the season, too. So I think the best thing is just managing it and having the team support, me supporting myself in going out there and being the best I can.’”
There seems to be a disconnect between LaVine’s preseason comments and the fact that he may miss the first two games of the regular season. Hopefully the Bulls are just being extra cautious with their star player and he doesn’t have to battle any recurring problems in that knee this season.
Bulls guard Coby White, the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft, was eligible for a rookie scale extension up until Monday’s deadline, but he never really thought he’d sign a new deal this year, according to Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.
“No, no. I didn’t,” White said on Tuesday. “I wasn’t really focused on that. Just play this year out. I put in a lot of work this summer, so let my work show, and take it from there.”
White also dismissed the idea that entering a contract year and playing for his next contract will provide any extra motivation this season: “Nah, I love playing basketball. That’s all the motivation I need. I love playing, I love hooping. I’ve had motivation my whole life. I ain’t gonna change nothing now.”
In other Bulls news, the team’s 2020 lottery pick, Patrick Williams, will open the season as the starting power forward, head coach Billy Donovan confirmed today (Twitter link via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic). Williams came off the bench in multiple preseason games as Javonte Green shone, but Green will be part of the second unit to open the season.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- The Cavaliers feel as if Evan Mobley has Hall of Fame potential and believe his development is the key to whether the team can become a legitimate championship contender, Chris Fedor writes in an excellent article for Cleveland.com. “Evan needs to be in a position where people look at us and say, ‘Evan is their best player,'” assistant coach Greg Buckner said. “It can’t be, ‘Donovan (Mitchell) is their best player, Darius (Garland) is their best player or J.A. (Jarrett Allen) is their best player.’ It has to be Evan.” That view is shared by head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, according to assistant coach Luke Walton. “J.B. talks about it all the time with us: We need Evan to be one of the best players in this league, if not the best player in this league, if we’re gonna win championships,” Walton said. “That’s our mission coming from J.B. — help him get to that level.”
- Hoops Rumors has confirmed that Didi Louzada is eligible to become an affiliate player for the Cleveland Charge after signing a two-way contract (rather than an Exhibit 10 deal) with the Cavaliers on Monday and being waived shortly thereafter. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first reported the Cavs’ plan to secure Louzada’s G League rights.
- With Khris Middleton and Joe Ingles already ruled out for the start of the season, the Bucks will also be without Pat Connaughton for a few weeks, prompting Eric Nehm of The Athletic to explore how the team will deal with all its injury absences. As Nehm details, George Hill, Jevon Carter, and Wesley Matthews all figure to play increased roles, with young wings Jordan Nwora and MarJon Beauchamp potentially seeing action too.
- Pacers forward James Johnson was happy to earn the team’s final roster spot, beating out Langston Galloway and Deividas Sirvydis. However, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files relays, Johnson knows that he can’t get comfortable yet, since his contract still isn’t fully guaranteed for the season. “It’s an honor for this spot, but at the end of the day I’m still vulnerable,” he said.
Several notable fourth-year NBA players who were eligible for rookie scale contract extension agreements did not come to terms with their current clubs, and will now enter restricted free agency next summer with the extension deadline having passed.
Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that newly-promoted Suns starting power forward Cameron Johnson, Hornets forward P.J. Washington, and Celtics forward Grant Williams all failed to reach extension deals with their respective clubs.
With former Phoenix starting four Jae Crowder demanding his way out of town, it would have perhaps behooved the Suns to lock up Johnson to a long-term deal, but the team’s ownership situation could have made figuring out an agreement difficult. Williams had an erratic postseason for Boston during the team’s Finals run. Washington could get some additional run this season with the availability of forward Miles Bridges up in the air.
A source informs Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link) that Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes did not ultimately reach an agreement on a contract extension with New Orleans. Clark suggested that Hayes and his team would most likely resume negotiations when the big man reaches restricted free agency next summer, so it appears New Orleans does hope to keep him aboard.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets that Sixers swingman Matisse Thybulle similarly did not agree to an extension with Philadelphia, and is now set to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2023. Thybulle is a terrific perimeter defender, but his offensive limitations impede his value.
Even though Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard and head coach Wes Unseld Jr. gave him positive preseason performance reviews, forward Rui Hachimura also will now enter restricted free agency in the 2023 offseason, reports Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Knicks forward Cam Reddish, the tenth pick in the 2019 draft, did not get an extension from New York, his second NBA team, The Athletic’s Fred Katz reports (via Twitter). Katz notes that an agreement was not anticipated. Reddish struggled to carve out rotation minutes when the Hawks traded him to the Knicks, even though the team was clearly lottery-bound near the end of the 2021/22 season.
Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). reports that, in another anticipated move, combo guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker did not reach an extension agreement with the Jazz.
Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes that the Bulls also opted to not extend reserve guard Coby White, the seventh pick in the 2019 draft. Schaefer notes that, though Chicago considered trade offers for the 22-year-old out of UNC, the team eventually decided to not move him.
White will compete for minutes in a crowded backcourt that includes starting point guard Ayo Dosunmu and starting shooting guard Zach LaVine, plus reserves Alex Caruso and Goran Dragic. If Lonzo Ball returns from a recent knee surgery, he would supplant Dosunmu in the starting lineup, and further dilute White’s minutes load.
Here’s the full list of players eligible for rookie scale extensions who didn’t sign new deals before Monday’s 5:00 pm CT deadline:
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Jazz)
- Darius Bazley (Thunder)
- Goga Bitadze (Pacers)
- Rui Hachimura (Wizards)
- Jaxson Hayes (Pelicans)
- Cameron Johnson (Suns)
- Romeo Langford (Spurs)
- Cam Reddish (Knicks)
- Matisse Thybulle (Sixers)
- P.J. Washington (Hornets)
- Coby White (Bulls)
- Grant Williams (Celtics)
- Dylan Windler (Cavaliers)
Extension-eligible veterans on expiring contracts remain eligible to sign new contracts throughout the season, while extension-eligible vets with multiple years left on their contracts can extend their deals up until 10:59 pm CT tonight.
Though the roster deadline has passed and every team is in compliance, that doesn’t mean there will be no additional moves tonight and tomorrow before the games begin. That said, in general, team rosters are set with the 2022/23 season set to tip off on Tuesday.
Luke Adams contributed to this report.
The Bulls are trying to get center Nikola Vucevic more involved in an offense that was often dominated by Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. LaVine hopes to even out the scoring duties after Vucevic saw his average drop to 17.6 PPG last season, his lowest mark in four years.
“We’ve all been main options,” LaVine said. “When things get a little tougher in the game, I think that’s when we look to our own ability to try to implement ourselves. But we need to look more inward and play more as a unit. That’s what we’re working on.”
Coach Billy Donovan tried some new looks with Vucevic during the preseason, Johnson notes, giving him additional opportunities in the paint and putting him in more read-and-react situations. Donovan trusts LaVine to make the approach work and says he has been willing to adapt to whatever the coaching staff has asked.
“For Zach, you’ve got to look that it’s always been about the team,” Donovan said. “My first year here — and just calling it like it was — he was the only guy who could really make a play at the end of the game off the dribble. We just didn’t have breakdown guards. … Now you add DeMar and Vooch and some other pieces, this is different. All these guys look at ways our team can get better and they can get better. And they have enough confidence in their own offensive ability that they’ll figure out where those spots are at.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Alex Caruso credits his time with the Lakers for helping him become a more complete player, Johnson adds in a separate story. Caruso was surrounded by veterans in L.A., and he says LeBron James had the biggest influence. “He helped me reach new levels of my game that I maybe didn’t have the confidence to reach at a certain point in my career,” Caruso said. “He enabled me to get on the court because we had such good chemistry. I was able to play off him and understand the game. … He shows up and plays every night. He’s out there as the best player, No. 1 on the scouting report. And he’s going hard.”
- After returning from an injury last season, Patrick Williams played noticeably different with the second unit than with the starters, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. He’s more aggressive on offense when surrounded by reserves, but when he’s on the court with LaVine and DeRozan he tries to get the ball to them. “A lot of times in the first unit, obviously with Zach and DeMar, they’re All-Stars,” Williams said. “So I feel and the team feels like the best shot is for the ball to be in their hand. We’re trying to set screens for them and trying to get them open. … But with that second group, it’s just whoever has it.”
- In another piece, Poe looks at six revelations from the preseason, including Ayo Dosunmu‘s new responsibilities as the starting point guard and Dalen Terry‘s push for a rotation role as a rookie.
The Bulls have made multiple cuts, waiving guard Carlik Jones and forward Okaro White, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. The team also officially released two-way player Justin Lewis, as was reported on Friday.
Jones had been in camp with the Bulls in recent weeks after a strong Summer League showing with the team. He appeared in three preseason games. White, meanwhile, just signed with Chicago earlier this week.
It’s possible – but not certain – that both players will end up suiting up for the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League affiliate.
Lewis, meanwhile, is recovering from an ACL injury and is expected to remain around the team as he goes through his rehab process, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reported on Friday.
The Bulls now have 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals, so their roster is ready for the regular season, though that doesn’t mean they won’t make any last-minute moves before Monday’s deadline.