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Central Notes: Crowder, Bucks, Lopez, Cavs, Duren, Bulls

November 18th, 2022 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting earlier in the week that the Suns appeared to be making real progress on trading Jae Crowder – perhaps in a three-team scenario – Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports was hesitant to offer many specific details in the latest episode of his Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast on Thursday, noting that he has yet to confirm the exact framework of the deals Phoenix is discussing. However, Fischer was able to identify a presumed frontrunner for Crowder.

“The only other thing I really feel comfortable sharing and confident sharing is that people around the situation have said that Milwaukee is the most likely team to land him,” Fischer said. “I can say that.”

As Fischer notes, he reported last week that the Bucks – who have long been identified as a possible suitor for Crowder – were gauging Grayson Allen‘s trade value around the league. So if Milwaukee does make a deal for Crowder, it seems likely that Allen would be an outgoing piece, either to Phoenix or to a third team.

Here’s more from around the Central:

After missing most of last season due to a back injury, Bucks center Brook Lopez is healthy and making a significant impact on the defensive end this season, according to Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com, who argues that the big man should be in the early Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Lopez is on an expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
Logan Murdock of The Ringer takes a look at the Cavaliers‘ recent slump and their efforts to become a title contender without LeBron James for the first time in the 21st century. “I think for all of us, everyone is preaching championship,” Cavs wing Caris LeVert told Murdock. “I’ve been around a lot of teams, and it’s a long season. A lot of things happen within the season. So I think for us, just staying focused on the day-to-day, getting the most of each day, trying to maximize our potential each and every day will take care of all the rest of the stuff.”
Pistons center Jalen Duren is the NBA’s youngest player and the only one who was born after LeBron James made his NBA debut in 2003, but his teammates and coaches have been impressed with his maturity, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.com. “He don’t feel 18. He’s not built like he’s 18,” Isaiah Stewart said of Duren, who turns 19 on Friday. “He’s built like a grown man. He’s very mature for his age.”
In a pair of stories for The Chicago Sun-Times, Joe Cowley considers what’s next for the enigmatic Coby White once he gets healthy and wonders if some lineup changes are in store for the struggling Bulls.

Bulls Notes: Dosunmu, Markkanen, Williams, Ball, White

November 17th, 2022 at 5:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Bulls point guard Ayo Dosunmu wants his head coach Billy Donovan to hold nothing back in his approach, and Donovan has delivered, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Mayberry notes that Donovan is generally more conversant with younger Chicago players than he is with the team’s vets.

“He just wants me to reach my full potential,” Dosunmu said of Donovan. “He tells me a lot. He’s always coaching with tough love. I love that because that’s making me become a better player. I want to soak up as much information as I can to try to get better every game. Coach does that. He’s always on me when I do things positive and negative. And I think at the end of the day that’s going to make me become a better player and help our team become a better team.”

In his second NBA season, the 6’5″ guard out of Illinois is averaging 11.7 PPG on .488/.353/.923 shooting splits. He is also chipping in 3.8 RPG, 3.2 APG and 0.8 SPG.

There’s more out of the Windy City:

Seven-foot Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, drafted by the Bulls with the No. 7 pick in 2017 out of Arizona, has enjoyed a breakout run with an upstart 10-5 Utah club thus far. Chicago can learn a lot from Markkanen’s growth into a fringe All-Star talent, especially with regards to the way the team handles raw third-year forward Patrick Williams, opines K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
Although the Bulls are clearly missing the three-point marksmanship and perimeter defense of injured starting point guard Lonzo Ball, the team’s bigger problems will remain even after he returns, Johnson writes in a separate piece. The Bulls lack reliable volume three-point shooters and solid two-way players, which is part of the reason Chicago has is off to a middling 6-9 start this season.
Young Bulls role players Williams and Coby White are listed as questionable to play on Friday against a beatable 4-11 Magic team, reports Rob Schafer of NBC Sports Chicago. White’s status actually represents an improvement, as he has missed the last eight Chicago contests with a left quad contusion. Williams sprained his right ankle late in the Bulls’ 124-110 loss to the Pelicans on Wednesday.

And-Ones: Wembanyama, 2023 Draft, Best Trade Assets, More

November 17th, 2022 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Victor Wembanyama led France to a pair of blowout victories in this month’s World Cup qualifiers, scoring 39 total points in 48 minutes as the French team beat Lithuania by 25 points and Bosnia and Herzegovina by 36. The performances on the international stage were the latest reminder why Wembanyama is ranked atop every draft expert’s big board for 2023.

That list of draft experts includes Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who unveiled his full top-100 list for the 2023 NBA draft on Thursday, with the usual suspects (Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson) leading the way.

Givony’s initial list features Overtime Elite’s Amen Thompson at No. 3, Arkansas’ Nick Smith Jr. at No. 4, and Villanova’s Cam Whitmore at No. 5. Keyonte George, Ausar Thompson, Dillon Mitchell, Kel’el Ware, and Brandon Miller round out his top 10.

In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Givony also shared his impressions on this year’s Champions Classic, evaluating Duke’s Kyle Filipowski as a lottery prospect and taking a closer look at Gradey Dick‘s strong start to the season for Kansas.

Which NBA teams have the best collection of trade assets? Yossi Gozlan and the staff at HoopsHype rank the Thunder, Pelicans, and the Grizzlies as the top three due to their impressive mix of young talent and future draft picks. On the other end of the spectrum, the Wizards are considered the team with the least valuable trade assets.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today takes a look at nine players who are making an impact this season after changing teams in the summer, starting with Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland, while Frank Urbina of HoopsHype singles out nine players who appear to be taking a major leap forward, including Lauri Markkanen and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In his latest look around the NBA, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer considers whether the Warriors and Bulls will have to turn to the trade market this season, explores Joel Embiid‘s ongoing evolution, and highlights some of the league’s most impressive three-point shooters.
John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks out the “panic meter” to determine how concerned we should be about some would-be contenders who are off to slow starts. Hollinger isn’t too worried about the Sixers and Clippers, but has serious reservations about the Timberwolves, Nets, and Lakers, with the Heat and Warriors falling in the middle.

Bulls Notes: Terry, Donovan, White, Slow Start

November 14th, 2022 at 10:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

First-round pick Dalen Terry has made only eight cameo appearances for the Bulls this season. He was grateful to get a G League assignment with the Windy City Bulls, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes.

Terry got a chance to play extensive minutes in two games over the weekend before being recalled.

“It was a great experience. It felt good to go against somebody besides the imagination in my head,” Terry said. “There’s no better way to get back into game shape than going down and playing some games.”

We have more on the Bulls:

The Nuggets jumped all over Chicago on Sunday, grabbing a 62-47 halftime lead en route to a 23-point victory. Bulls coach Billy Donovan called the first-half performance inexcusable, according to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun Times. ‘‘We had three days in terms of no games, so we should have been an extremely fresh basketball team,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘There’s always some form of adversity that hits the game, and we have to be better at thriving in that.’’
Coby White has missed the last seven games due to a quad injury and he didn’t practice on Monday. It’s unlikely he’ll practice on Tuesday either, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.
The Bulls are off to a slow start mainly because executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas chose a path of continuity with a roster full of players with significant injury histories, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times opines.

Ayo Dosunmu Worked To Improve Three-Point Shot

November 12th, 2022 at 5:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Last season’s frustrating playoff performance inspired Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu to improve his game during the offseason, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bucks swarmed DeMar DeRozan during their first-round series and dared Chicago’s other players to beat them from the outside. No one could deliver, as the Bulls shot just 28.3% from three-point range for the series and Dosunmu was 3-of-13. “I always want to get better,” said Dosunmu, who’s connecting at 38.3% on three-pointers this season. “So far I’ve prepared myself being shot-ready at all times. I try to take all the open shots. I try to get downhill, play to my strengths, playmake. But when the three is open, I’ve really been focusing on that.”

Bulls Notes: Vucevic, Roster, Drummond, White

November 11th, 2022 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls center Nikola Vucevic was fined $15K by the NBA for making an “obscene gesture” during the first quarter of the team’s Wednesday loss to New Orleans, the league announced today (via Twitter). After being whistled for a traveling violation, Vucevic briefly flipped a middle finger in the direction of the stands (video link).

“I figured I would (get fined). It was just in the moment,” Vucevic said on Friday, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “I got called for a travel. I heard somebody in the stands say something. It wasn’t really towards anybody. It was just frustration.

“Obviously not my proudest moment. I wish I hadn’t done it. But I knew as soon as I did it, there was a good chance somebody caught it. Obviously, I have to do better and make sure I don’t do that again. Just not a great moment. I apologize to the fans and everybody for it. I’ll learn from it.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Vucevic is in a contract year and knows he’s unlikely to receive an extension this season, telling K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago that “the front office kind of wants to see how everything goes this season before they make decisions.” The uncertainty might’ve stressed Vucevic out a few years ago, but now that his career earnings are in the nine figures, he’s not worrying about his next contract. “Obviously, when you have an extension, you have security. But one good thing about not having one is you still have options to do what you feel like is best for you and your family,” he said. “I’m not in a position where it’s like a pressing thing for me, where my whole life depends on it. I don’t have to worry about when I get my next contract, how big it’s going to be. I’ve set myself up for a nice life, post-career. That’s why I have more peace of mind now than maybe I had the first time when I was heading into (unrestricted free agency).”
According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, some people around the NBA were surprised that the Bulls didn’t make any significant moves to try to upgrade their rotation in the offseason. Head coach Billy Donovan explained that injuries last season to Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams, among others, meant the Bulls never got a good look at their full roster. “I really felt after sitting down and talking to the front office that the hard part was we never saw our team really whole together for a long period of time,” Donovan told Bulpett. “I think the feeling was, you know what, like, hopefully we can get healthy and we can see what this group looks like.”
Andre Drummond‘s injured shoulder responded well after he returned to action on Wednesday and he should be good moving forward, tweets Schaefer. As for Coby White, he’s still dealing with swelling and a limited range of motion in his injured quad. White has made progress, but isn’t practicing yet, according to Donovan.

Northwest Notes: Hart, Wolves, KCP, Markkanen, Conley

November 10th, 2022 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers faced some criticism last winter for not receiving more in return when they traded CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. to New Orleans, but they certainly haven’t been disappointed by what they’ve gotten from Josh Hart, one of the key pieces in that deal.

A full-time starter this season for the 7-3 Blazers, Hart is attempting just 6.8 shots per 36 minutes in the early part of this season, by far a career low. But he’s filling up the box score by averaging 8.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, all of which are career bests, and is earning praise from his teammates, as Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian details.

“His last name is the perfect last name for him,” Damian Lillard said. “He rebounds like he is seven feet, he’s always in the passing lanes, he’s physical, playing hard, passionate, cares about winning. He doesn’t care about shots.”

While Hart admits that he wouldn’t mind a greater role on offense, he said he’s OK with taking a back seat to Lillard, Jerami Grant, and other teammates if that’s what’s best for the club.

“When you want to win, you’ve got to sacrifice,” Hart said, per Fentress. “I would love to be out there shooting 10, 12, 13 shots per game, and doing stuff like that. But at the end of the day, if you want to win, guys are going to have to sacrifice. Guys have to play different roles to help the team.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

It’s officially time to start worrying about the Timberwolves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The Wolves, who lost on Wednesday to a Suns squad missing Chris Paul and Cameron Johnson, have shown “no energy, no drive, and no heart” this season, Krawczynski writes, pointing out that the team has trailed by at least 18 points in six of its seven losses. “It’s just the sign of a team that’s lacking a little bit of confidence and purpose right now,” head coach Chris Finch said.
Acquired in an offseason trade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been an ideal fit as a three-and-D piece for the Nuggets, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports, who says head coach Michael Malone has given Caldwell-Pope the freedom to deviate from the team’s defensive game plan when he sees fit.
Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who is thriving in his new home in Utah, sat down with Shams Charania of Stadium (Twitter video link) to discuss his trade from Cleveland, his goal of making an All-Star team, and why things didn’t work out with the Bulls, among other topics.
The presence of veteran point guard Mike Conley has been one important reason why so many of the Jazz‘s newly acquired players are fitting in seamlessly this season, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I’ve played with some good point guards, but nothing like Mike,” Markkanen said on Wednesday. “He’s a really smart player and knows not just when to pass ball, but he delivers on target.”

Andre Drummond Set To Return For Bulls

November 9th, 2022 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing six games with a sprained left shoulder, Bulls center Andre Drummond has been upgraded to probable for Wednesday’s contest vs. New Orleans and expects to play, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.

Bulls Notes: Terry, LaVine, White, Drummond

November 8th, 2022 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls first-round pick Dalen Terry hasn’t been part of the team’s regular rotation so far this season, logging just 22 total minutes in seven appearances. As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, Terry initially struggled to adjust to finding himself so far down the depth chart, but has been trying to make the most of the opportunity to learn from the more seasoned NBA veterans playing ahead of him.

“It was pretty hard at first because all my life I’ve always played big minutes and been a big contributor on the team,” Terry said. “It kind of reminds me of my freshman year in college where I started half the year, then I went to coming off the bench. It was kind of hard on me. ‘Lately, I’ve been just trying to keep a positive edge and know that I get to watch all these games, be around these guys — the vets — and learn from everybody on the team. Just waiting my turn.”

According to Cowley, Terry is staying ready, recognizing that head coach Billy Donovan could turn him anytime, especially if the team finds itself shorthanded due to injuries. The former Arizona standout intends to make the most of his playing time when he gets it.

“I know once I get my opportunity, I’m not going to give it up,” Terry said. “I’m not going to give it up because of the way I feel right now.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Zach LaVine, returning from offseason knee surgery, has made it clear he’d like to be playing every game rather than periodically sitting due to injury management, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls’ schedule, which doesn’t include another back-to-back set until December 10 and 11, should give him that opportunity in the coming weeks. “We’ve had a tough schedule to start off,” said LaVine, who sat out the season opener and then the first game of three separate back-to-backs. “Now we have a a day or two off between every game. I’m happy with that because you’ll see me in the lineup.”
With DeMar DeRozan facing intense defensive pressure on Monday vs. Toronto and scoring just nine points, LaVine and the Bulls’ supporting cast stepped up, as six players scored in double figures. Donovan believes that balanced attack is one the team should strive for going forward, Cowley writes for the Sun-Times. “My goal would be, can we have five to seven guys at the end of 82 games that are in double-figure scoring,” Donovan said.
There’s still no target return date for Coby White, who remains sidelined due to a deep thigh bruise, according to Cowley. However, Donovan believes there’s a decent chance that Andre Drummond could be available on Wednesday after missing the last six games with a sprained left shoulder.

Bulls Notes: Ball, LaVine, Dragić, White, Drummond

November 4th, 2022 at 10:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan provided a positive update on Lonzo Ball on Friday night, though he admitted that there’s still no timetable for the point guard’s return, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. As Johnson notes, it has been a little more than five weeks since the team announced that Ball would be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks following another knee surgery.

“Everything is very, very optimistic right now. I think there are things that he is able to do that he feels a lot freer that he did prior to the surgery,” Donovan said. “The biggest part was allowing the incision inside of his knee to heal. And then he started to do some things. He has done some running on a treadmill in the water, which is a positive sign. There are things he’s doing that he wasn’t able to do.

“Don’t have any timeline on when he’ll really be able to ramp up, but things have progressed. And everything that I’ve gotten from the medical guys has been positive. Obviously, he’s a ways away from running and cutting and doing all those things. But there is optimism that this hopefully has helped him.”

According to Johnson, Donovan said Ball’s discomfort has eased, but until he begins running and cutting again, the team won’t really know where he stands as far as a potential timetable, since Ball will still need to work on conditioning after missing so much time. He last played on January 14.

Ball’s knee issues date back to a torn meniscus that limited him to just 35 games last season. He was originally projected to return a few weeks after the surgery, but a bone bruise disrupted his rehab process.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Two-time All-Star Zach LaVine (knee) was able to play his third game in four nights in Friday’s loss to the Celtics, which is a positive development. However, it appears as though he’s still trying to regain his finishing ability near the basket, with Johnson noting (via Twitter) that LaVine took exclusively jump shots in the first half. When Johnson (Twitter link) asked LaVine after the game if he felt he had his normal explosion on drives, LaVine said he doesn’t, but he’s not worried about it. “Obviously, I’m not all the way back yet. I feel that. I’m not going to lie. But it’s coming. I’m not scared or anything like that. It’s seven games in. I feel fine,” he said.
Veteran point guard Goran Dragić, a free agent addition over the summer, says he loves his fit with the Bulls after a tumultuous ’21/22 season. “I enjoy it so much here. You get to a new team, new city, new people, and it’s such a nice vibe for me,” Dragić told Johnson in an interview for NBC Sports Chicago. “Good communication with Billy, who is a great coach. I just feel happy. I think that’s the most important thing, especially at the end of your career. That you’re productive and happy.” The 36-year-old also said he’d consider continuing his career beyond this season as long as he’s healthy.
In addition to Ball, Donovan also provided updates on guard Coby White (thigh) and center Andre Drummond (shoulder sprain), who remain sidelined. According to Johnson (Twitter link), Donovan said White has “a significant deep thigh contusion” and is still in a lot of pain, while Drummond is having difficult raising his arm above his head. He didn’t suffer a torn labrum or dislocation like the team feared he might have, but he’s not close to returning to action.