- 40,141
- 11,080
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Deebo the best Bulls player since pre ACL tear D-Rose. On god. That fiddy piece last night was
Especially with all the chirping clippers fans in the UC last night
Chicago Bulls Season Thread 2021-2022
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by coldcity,
- Start date
Especially with all the chirping clippers fans in the UC last night
- 258
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- Joined
- Feb 1, 2022
Odd to have so many there.
Full disclosure, I do like their squad though.
Impressive all year without their best and second best player. Most down 25+ point comeback wins ever in a season.
Reggie Jackson is low key nice as hell. Helped lead them during this run. But as a third option would be incredible.
He had Vuc on skates to end regulation on that bad switch. Surprised he didnāt make him fall.
Clippers are legit though. Get PG13 back in the swing of things and theyāll be decent. With Kawhi instant title contenders.
So it was a nice hard fought victory. Bulls couldāve easily gave up when they were down after their stretch of play for the past month and change but they hung in there.
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- Feb 1, 2022
Also thatās low key basketball racism. Huerter is actually a quality on ball defender, if you watch more than just the Bulls. Same way Hinrich was an amazing on ball defender. Donāt be basketball racist broMarc Davis almost got me kicked out the UC last night ā¦. Terrible ref trio last night
This games easily over in the 3rd if the hawks didnāt get multiple runs off streaks of phantom fouls or fouls called literally 5+ seconds after they happened.
After the savagewoo fast break dunk & to called by the hawks green was clearly fouled. Green thought so & so did the rest of the stadium. I yelled out āMarc you gotta blow your whistle fairly on both sides of the floorā this man turned around & shook his head like a ****ing third grader mocking your words ānoooo noooo Iām not gonna do itā security instantly pushed him away & waved at me to stop so I waved back & said hi while I continued to heckle & berate the *** trash ref trio.
Ayo was vet like last night guarding trae & if not for the bull**** extra late foul calls he wouldāve locked him up worse without foul trouble
NO MORE TONY BRADLEY MINUTES aināt god good!
They might as well cut baby hands man āwearing 13 to honor joakimā he needs to be slapped.
Tristan was great & should only get better
Deebo is HIM
Pretty sure Zach is still hurt cuz he had Kevin huerter on him all game & kept passing out of iso situations with him. It was really pissing me off & Iām sure Iām in the background of a few plays saying ādonāt pass attack him! Itās ****ing Kevin huerter bro!ā
Coby still steady ā¦ all his haters have recessed into the bushes ā¦ him & Ayo both played key minutes with 5 fouls & never got the 6th ā¦
We gon be NASTY!!!! Once zo, ac & pwill get back
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- Apr 23, 2001
bummer season ended with one playoff win 
bucks are the measuring stick and we are not even close to these guys....yet.....
losing ball really hurt this team on both ends, kid might not be a HOF but he is def worth getting here, glad we made the move. just stay on the court!
Lavine, never seen a player more often in covid protocol....wow......but bulls better sign him to the max, don't low ball this guy.....I can def see him forcing his way out to a team like philly or LA team or even nets.....if so let him walk for nothing.....dont want harden anywhere around this team.
espn
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
NBA Playoffs 2022: The Chicago Bulls got back to relevancy -- getting back to contention will be harder
By Jamal Collier
THE FINAL 12 seconds of Game 4 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls had yet to expire, but both Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan had seen enough.
With the game out of reach and their once-promising season slipping away, the Bulls' All-Star star duo rose from the end of the bench, their home white jerseys still untucked, and made their way toward the locker room, not sticking around for the final buzzer.
After splitting the first two games in Milwaukee, the Bulls had returned home to host their first playoff games in five years, with the momentum on their side. An injury to Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton in Game 2 had given them an opening to perhaps upset the defending champions.
Instead, the Bulls were blown away for eight non-competitive quarters over the weekend, the Bucks seizing a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and making a first-round exit all but inevitable for the Bulls. Chicago had been dispatched in a way that mirrored the team's struggles all season against the Eastern Conference elite.
The 2021-22 Bulls season ended Wednesday night with a 116-100 loss in Game 5, bringing to a halt a ride that darted out of the gates and heightened expectations before crashing with an eventual second-half disappointment. The Bulls spent 56 days atop the Eastern Conference, more than any team besides the Miami Heat, who eventually claimed the top seed. However, the last of those days came back on Feb. 25; Chicago went 8-15 after the All-Star break against the toughest second-half schedule in the NBA.
On one level, Chicago's season was a success: The Bulls made the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season thanks to a roster overhaul led by vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. Their 46 wins were their most since 2014-15, the last season of the Tom Thibodeau era.
But Chicago's swift playoff exit, combined with an abysmal record against the Eastern Conference elite (1-14 against the top four teams in the East), offer a harsh reminder of the team's current status among the NBA hierarchy.
Going from irrelevant to relevant is one thing, but what Chicago attempts next, going from good to great, will be its hardest test yet.
LESS THAN FOUR minutes had gone by in the first quarter at the United Center on Jan. 14, the then-conference leading Bulls hosting the Golden State Warriors in one of Chicago's few nationally televised games, when LaVine soared into the air to secure an offensive rebound. LaVine landed awkwardly on his left leg.
He dribbled out of the paint and away from a pair of Warriors, and slung a pass toward Nikola Vucevic that was intercepted. LaVine never ran to the other end of the floor; he fouled Stephen Curry after the possession changed and quickly removed himself from the game.
For the rest of the season, LaVine played with that left knee injury. To stay on the court, he had platelet-rich plasma therapy, a cortisone injection and fluid drained from his knee near the All-Star break and missed 13 games over the the rest of the season. LaVine, who will be a free agent after the season, said at All-Star Weekend that "in the offseason I'll be able to take care of it and try to get myself 100 percent."
"Some games you feel great, sometimes you don't," LaVine told ESPN near the end of the season. "I try to maintain it. Understand you're not going to be able to do certain moves or have some explosiveness each and every game."
[TR]
[TH][/TH]
[TH]Before Injury[/TH]
[TH]After Injury[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Games[/TD]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]29[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]PPG[/TD]
[TD]25.6[/TD]
[TD]23.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FG Pct[/TD]
[TD]50%[/TD]
[TD]45%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-pt Pct[/TD]
[TD]41.2%[/TD]
[TD]36%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FT Pct[/TD]
[TD]87.2%[/TD]
[TD]83.7%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
While that Warriors' game derailed Lavine's season, it officially ended Lonzo Ball's.
Before their next game, the team ruled Ball out because his knee wasn't responding to treatment. He then opted to have arthroscopic surgery with the hope of returning late in the season. He never did.
His first season in Chicago was a 35-game campaign in which he established himself as a pesky defender and their most accurate, high-volume 3-point shooter (42.3% on 7.4 attempts per game). Without him, the Bucks dared the Bulls to beat them from the 3-point line. Chicago failed, shooting a league-worst 28% from deep during the playoffs.
Alex Caruso, who like Ball joined the Bulls last summer, missed that fateful game against the Warriors while in health and safety protocols. He returned one week later for the Bulls' first game against the Bucks this season. During the third quarter that night, Caruso hit the floor hard after a flagrant foul from Grayson Allen, resulting in a broken wrist. He missed the next two months.
[TR]
[TH][/TH]
[TH]Before Injury[/TH]
[TH]After Injury[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]PPG[/TD]
[TD]8.4[/TD]
[TD]5.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SPG[/TD]
[TD]1.9[/TD]
[TD]1.3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FG Pct[/TD]
[TD]42.9%[/TD]
[TD]32.4%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-pt Pct[/TD]
[TD]34.5%[/TD]
[TD]30.8%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Bulls players missed 221 games this season because of injury (including COVID-19), according to Spotrac, the most among Eastern Conference teams who qualified for the postseason. They used 29 different starting lineups to get through the season, their most in a season since 2000-01, when they used 32. That team went 15-67.
"I think if you would've told me, coming out of the All-Star break in February: Lonzo Ball is going to play less than half the year. Caruso is going to play less than half the year. Patrick Williams is going to break his wrist and be out for five months. Zach LaVine is going to be dealing with a broken finger, torn ligament, and then he's going to basically be dealing with a knee issue for the entire season. And Ayo [Dosunmu] is going to be your starting point guard for the next three months -- you'd be scratching your head like 'oh my god, what is this going to look like'?" Bulls coach Billy Donovan told ESPN.
"Training camp was so predicated on what we were trying to do to get the group to play together. And it just never really happened for us."
bucks are the measuring stick and we are not even close to these guys....yet.....
losing ball really hurt this team on both ends, kid might not be a HOF but he is def worth getting here, glad we made the move. just stay on the court!
Lavine, never seen a player more often in covid protocol....wow......but bulls better sign him to the max, don't low ball this guy.....I can def see him forcing his way out to a team like philly or LA team or even nets.....if so let him walk for nothing.....dont want harden anywhere around this team.
espn
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
NBA Playoffs 2022: The Chicago Bulls got back to relevancy -- getting back to contention will be harder
By Jamal Collier
THE FINAL 12 seconds of Game 4 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls had yet to expire, but both Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan had seen enough.
With the game out of reach and their once-promising season slipping away, the Bulls' All-Star star duo rose from the end of the bench, their home white jerseys still untucked, and made their way toward the locker room, not sticking around for the final buzzer.
After splitting the first two games in Milwaukee, the Bulls had returned home to host their first playoff games in five years, with the momentum on their side. An injury to Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton in Game 2 had given them an opening to perhaps upset the defending champions.
Instead, the Bulls were blown away for eight non-competitive quarters over the weekend, the Bucks seizing a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and making a first-round exit all but inevitable for the Bulls. Chicago had been dispatched in a way that mirrored the team's struggles all season against the Eastern Conference elite.
The 2021-22 Bulls season ended Wednesday night with a 116-100 loss in Game 5, bringing to a halt a ride that darted out of the gates and heightened expectations before crashing with an eventual second-half disappointment. The Bulls spent 56 days atop the Eastern Conference, more than any team besides the Miami Heat, who eventually claimed the top seed. However, the last of those days came back on Feb. 25; Chicago went 8-15 after the All-Star break against the toughest second-half schedule in the NBA.
On one level, Chicago's season was a success: The Bulls made the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season thanks to a roster overhaul led by vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. Their 46 wins were their most since 2014-15, the last season of the Tom Thibodeau era.
But Chicago's swift playoff exit, combined with an abysmal record against the Eastern Conference elite (1-14 against the top four teams in the East), offer a harsh reminder of the team's current status among the NBA hierarchy.
Going from irrelevant to relevant is one thing, but what Chicago attempts next, going from good to great, will be its hardest test yet.
LESS THAN FOUR minutes had gone by in the first quarter at the United Center on Jan. 14, the then-conference leading Bulls hosting the Golden State Warriors in one of Chicago's few nationally televised games, when LaVine soared into the air to secure an offensive rebound. LaVine landed awkwardly on his left leg.
He dribbled out of the paint and away from a pair of Warriors, and slung a pass toward Nikola Vucevic that was intercepted. LaVine never ran to the other end of the floor; he fouled Stephen Curry after the possession changed and quickly removed himself from the game.
For the rest of the season, LaVine played with that left knee injury. To stay on the court, he had platelet-rich plasma therapy, a cortisone injection and fluid drained from his knee near the All-Star break and missed 13 games over the the rest of the season. LaVine, who will be a free agent after the season, said at All-Star Weekend that "in the offseason I'll be able to take care of it and try to get myself 100 percent."
"Some games you feel great, sometimes you don't," LaVine told ESPN near the end of the season. "I try to maintain it. Understand you're not going to be able to do certain moves or have some explosiveness each and every game."
Zach LaVine this season
[TABLE][TR]
[TH][/TH]
[TH]Before Injury[/TH]
[TH]After Injury[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Games[/TD]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]29[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]PPG[/TD]
[TD]25.6[/TD]
[TD]23.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FG Pct[/TD]
[TD]50%[/TD]
[TD]45%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-pt Pct[/TD]
[TD]41.2%[/TD]
[TD]36%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FT Pct[/TD]
[TD]87.2%[/TD]
[TD]83.7%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
While that Warriors' game derailed Lavine's season, it officially ended Lonzo Ball's.
Before their next game, the team ruled Ball out because his knee wasn't responding to treatment. He then opted to have arthroscopic surgery with the hope of returning late in the season. He never did.
His first season in Chicago was a 35-game campaign in which he established himself as a pesky defender and their most accurate, high-volume 3-point shooter (42.3% on 7.4 attempts per game). Without him, the Bucks dared the Bulls to beat them from the 3-point line. Chicago failed, shooting a league-worst 28% from deep during the playoffs.
Alex Caruso, who like Ball joined the Bulls last summer, missed that fateful game against the Warriors while in health and safety protocols. He returned one week later for the Bulls' first game against the Bucks this season. During the third quarter that night, Caruso hit the floor hard after a flagrant foul from Grayson Allen, resulting in a broken wrist. He missed the next two months.
Alex Caruso this season
[TABLE][TR]
[TH][/TH]
[TH]Before Injury[/TH]
[TH]After Injury[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]PPG[/TD]
[TD]8.4[/TD]
[TD]5.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SPG[/TD]
[TD]1.9[/TD]
[TD]1.3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FG Pct[/TD]
[TD]42.9%[/TD]
[TD]32.4%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-pt Pct[/TD]
[TD]34.5%[/TD]
[TD]30.8%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Bulls players missed 221 games this season because of injury (including COVID-19), according to Spotrac, the most among Eastern Conference teams who qualified for the postseason. They used 29 different starting lineups to get through the season, their most in a season since 2000-01, when they used 32. That team went 15-67.
"I think if you would've told me, coming out of the All-Star break in February: Lonzo Ball is going to play less than half the year. Caruso is going to play less than half the year. Patrick Williams is going to break his wrist and be out for five months. Zach LaVine is going to be dealing with a broken finger, torn ligament, and then he's going to basically be dealing with a knee issue for the entire season. And Ayo [Dosunmu] is going to be your starting point guard for the next three months -- you'd be scratching your head like 'oh my god, what is this going to look like'?" Bulls coach Billy Donovan told ESPN.
"Training camp was so predicated on what we were trying to do to get the group to play together. And it just never really happened for us."
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- 965
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2001
espn
NBA Offseason Guide 2022: How the Chicago Bulls should approach the offseason
Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images9:36 PM ET
- Bobby Marks
- Facebook Messenger
The Bulls were 27-13 and held the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but injuries and a difficult second-half schedule led to Chicago quickly being forced to compete to stay out of the play-in tournament. While they were able to do that, they quickly found themselves overmatched against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.
The downward spiral in the standings coincided with Lonzo Ball injuring his right knee in mid-January. With Ball out of the lineup, Chicago went 19-23 and saw a steep decline on the defensive end.
The Bulls now enter the offseason with the focus on getting Ball healthy, re-signing All-Star Zach LaVine and adding via the draft.
State of the team
Roster status: Playoffs, but dependent on a healthy Lonzo BallWhen the season ended last May, Bulls head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas made a short but definitive statement on what to expect in the future.
"We will not settle for mediocrity here," Karnisovas told the media.
EDITOR'S PICKS
That statement held true for the first 60 games this season as Chicago went 19 games above .500.The 39-21 record was a result of the offseason moves that Karnisovas orchestrated, including the sign-and-trades to acquire Ball, DeMar DeRozan and the free-agent addition of Alex Caruso.
The Bulls also had a defensive identity centered around Ball and Caruso.
"As we built out our roster, we turned the focus to defense too. Alex Caruso has been instrumental. Lonzo Ball has been a great addition, pushing the pace for us," Bulls president and COO Michael Reinsdorf told ESPN in mid-January.
Prior to Jan. 15, the Bulls ranked sixth in points per game off turnovers and No. 1 in transition field goal percentage. Ball, per ESPN Stats & Information research, ranked in the top 10 in transition assists. However, Ball had arthroscopic left knee surgery on Jan. 20 and missed the remainder of the season. Caruso broke his left wrist on Jan. 21 and missed 22 games.
With that duo out, the strong defense that helped Chicago generate that great transition offense eventually came to a screeching halt. The Bulls slid to 26th in defensive efficiency with both players sidelined and fell to the bottom (26th) in points per game off turnovers.
Per Second Spectrum tracking, Chicago ranked 28th in points per possessions allowed in transition and 23rd in points per possessions allowed on half courts.
The Bulls never recovered with Ball out of the lineup, and a roster that had championship aspirations unfairly turned back to mediocre.
Now entering the offseason, Chicago will return all five starters -- assuming LaVine re-ups with the Bulls -- but the health of Ball is paramount on how far this Bulls team can go.
Zach LaVine
Last offseason LaVine made it clear that he outplayed the four-year, $80 million offer sheet he signed with Sacramento that was originally matched by the Bulls back in 2018.The guard was coming off his third consecutive season averaging at least 20 points, but his $19.5 million salary this year ranked 58th of all players and 11th among shooting guards.
Playoff Basketball Battle
Compete for $40,000 throughout the NBA postseason! Make Your Picks
"I outplayed my contract. I've been very loyal to Chicago. I like Chicago. I just want my respect. If that's now or later, it's something we've got to work out internally," he told Brian Windhorst before the Olympics.
LaVine was correct that his salary was below market for a player of his caliber and he should be rewarded with a more lucrative contract. However, the issue of why a new contract was not feasible stemmed from that same team friendly contract he signed in 2018.
Because of how the collective bargaining agreement is set up, LaVine was eligible for only a 120% raise off his $19.5 million salary for 2021-22. The total new money would have come to $104.8 million, $108 million less than what he is now eligible to receive this summer.
He was eligible to have his salary this past season renegotiated (meaning Chicago would have used cap space to increase it to $34.5 million) but doing that would have prevented the Bulls from acquiring Ball and DeRozan in separate sign-and-trades.
2022 NBA Playoffs
The NBA75 celebration continues with the NBA playoffs, which runs through June, when the league will crown a champion for its milestone season.
ā¢ A star guard has arrived in Dallas
ā¢ What to know about every playoff team
ā¢ Inside the world of NBA ref whisperers
ā¢ NBA matchups: First-round results
Now LaVine is eligible to sign a five-year, $212 million max contract.
- 2022-23: $36.6 million
- 2023-24: $39.5 million
- 2024-25: $42.5 million
- 2025-26: $45.4 million
- 2026-27: $48.3 million
Per ESPN Stats & Information research, over the past two seasons, LaVine is one of four players to average 25 points and shoot 40% on 3-pointers, along with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. He also ranked in the top 10 in clutch time field goal percentage among 65 players with at least 40 shots this season (as did DeRozan)
The red flag with a lengthy contract is from a durability issue.
LaVine has played more than 70 games just twice in his career and not since 2015-16, when he played all 82 (he did play 60 of Chicago's 65 games during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season). He missed 11 games this year with left knee soreness, the same knee that he had surgically repaired in 2017.
2022 NBA Playoffs
The NBA75 celebration continues with the NBA playoffs, which runs through June, when the league will crown a champion for its milestone season.
ā¢ A star guard has arrived in Dallas
ā¢ What to know about every playoff team
ā¢ Inside the world of NBA ref whisperers
ā¢ NBA matchups: First-round results
In his current contract, there was an Exhibit 3 Prior Injury Exclusion that protected the team if he suffered a catastrophic injury to that same knee. The Bulls will likely not get that injury insurance again with his next contract.
They could negotiate a games clause that would leave the $48.3 million in the last year non-guaranteed. For example, if LaVine appears in at least 60 games in three out of the first four years of the new deal, the contract in the last year is fully protected.
Considering that the financial windfall is expected for LaVine, would anything short of a fully guaranteed $212 million contract be seen as an insult?
Unlike the last time when LaVine was a free agent and the Bulls had the ability to match on an offer sheet, LaVine is free to sign with any team that has a $36.6 million max slot -- a list that currently only includes Detroit, Indiana, Orlando, San Antonio and Portland.
Nikola Vucevic
The Vucevic trade last March signaled that Chicago was going to build their roster with established players and not draft picks."Right from the beginning from the time we got here, we said that we're trying to get back to relevancy,'' Karnisovas said last March. "We're serious here about winning. We're serious about the culture of being very competitive, and any opportunity we get to make this team better we will.''
And although the Bulls missed the playoffs last year, acquiring the former All-Star was the first puzzle piece in putting together a playoff team.
"This trade wasn't just made for this year," VuÄeviÄ said last May. "I think that it was made for the future of the franchise."
Vucevic played a role in the Bulls reaching the playoffs this season, but now the front office has a decision on whether to extend the center past next season.
He is eligible for a four year, $118 million extension -- a steep price for a player who took a step back this season.
Per ESPN Stats & Information research, Vucevic recorded an effective field goal percentage of 44.7%, fifth worst among 68 players to attempt 500 jumpers. Last year his effective field goal percentage was 52.6%. His 9% drop in 3-point shooting (from 40% to 31%) was the seventh-largest drop in the past two seasons. Only Cade Cunningham and Russell Westbrook shot worse from three this season.
Despite the offensive regression this year, Vucevic still averaged 17.1 points and 11.1 rebounds, his ninth time in 11 seasons averaging a double-double.
A two-year $40 million extension is comparable to the contract that Clint Capela signed last offseason with the Atlanta Hawks and gives the Bulls financial flexibility starting in 2025-26 when only LaVine (if he returns) would be under contract.
Offseason cap breakdown and depth chart
Chicago Bulls 2022-23 Salary Breakdown
[TABLE][TR]
[TH]PLAYER[/TH]
[TH]CAP CHARGE[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1. DeMar DeRozan[/TD]
[TD]$27,300,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2. Nikola Vucevic[/TD]
[TD]$22,000,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3. Lonzo Ball[/TD]
[TD]$19,534,884[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4. Alex Caruso[/TD]
[TD]$9,030,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5. Patrick Williams[/TD]
[TD]$7,775,400[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6. Coby White[/TD]
[TD]$7,413,955[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7. Tony Bradley[/TD]
[TD]$2,036,318[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8. Javonte Green[/TD]
[TD]$1,815,677[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9. Marko Simonovic[/TD]
[TD]$1,563,518[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10. Ayo Dosunmu[/TD]
[TD]$1,563,518[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11. Zach LaVine[/TD]
[TD]$29,250,000 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12. Troy Brown Jr.[/TD]
[TD]$15,511,691 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13. Derrick Jones Jr.[/TD]
[TD]$12,637,170 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14. Matt Thomas[/TD]
[TD]$2,086,473 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15. Tristan Thompson[/TD]
[TD]$1,811,516 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16. Malcolm Hill[/TD]
[TD]$1,616,044 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17. Tyler Cook[/TD]
[TD]$1,616,044 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18. First-rounder (own)[/TD]
[TD]3,006,840 (draft hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Guaranteed Salary[/TD]
[TD]$156.6M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dead Money[/TD]
[TD]$3.9M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Non-guaranteed[/TD]
[TD]$1.6M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2022-23 NBA SALARY CAP[/TD]
[TD]$122M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2022-23 NBA LUXURY TAX LINE[/TD]
[TD]$147M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1. Bird[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2. Restricted non-Bird[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3. Early Bird[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4. Non Bird[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5. Restricted non-Bird[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Chicago Bulls 2022-23 Depth Chart
[TABLE][TR]
[TH]PG[/TH]
[TH]SG[/TH]
[TH]SF[/TH]
[TH]PF[/TH]
[TH]C[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]L. BallP[/TD]
[TD]C. White[/TD]
[TD]D. DeRozan[/TD]
[TD]P. Williams[/TD]
[TD]N. Vucevic[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]A. DosunmuP[/TD]
[TD]A. Caruso[/TD]
[TD]J. Green[/TD]
[TD]M. Simonovic[/TD]
[TD]T. BradleyP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]P: Player option[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
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Team needs
- A healthy Lonzo Ball
- Zach LaVine signed
- Backup stretch-4
- The draft: First-round pick
- Own free agents
- Exceptions: $10.3M midlevel and $4.1M biannual
- Cash: $6.3M to send or receive in a trade
Dates to watch
- June 29: Tony Bradley has a $2 million player option. The backup center averaged 10 minutes, 2.9 points and 3.4 rebounds. He started 10 games, averaging 5.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. If Bradley declined the option, the veterans minimum in 2022-23 is $100K more than his player option.
- June 29: Two-way players Malcolm Hill and Tyler Cook will become restricted free agents if Chicago tenders either player a $50K qualifying offer.
- July 7: The last day to use the $5 million trade exception that was created in the Daniel Theis sign-and-trade.
Restrictions
- The Bulls are allowed to trade their 2022 first, but only the night of the draft. Chicago cannot trade a future first because they owe first-round picks to Orlando and San Antonio. They are allowed to trade the 2023 Trail Blazers top-14 protected first.
Extension eligible
- The Bulls have until Oct. 17 to sign Coby White to a rookie extension. White started 54 games in 2020-21 but was moved to a reserve role with the signing of Lonzo Ball. He averaged 12.6 points, 2.9 assists and shot 38.5% from 3. In the 17 starts this year, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.2 assists on 43.7% from 3.
The draft
The Bulls owe future first-round picks to both Orlando and San Antonio. The pick going to Orlando is top-4 protected in both 2023 and 2024, and will convert to second-round picks in 2026 and 2027 if not conveyed in either year.The clock to send San Antonio a first starts once Orlando receives a first from the Bulls. For example, if the Bulls send Orlando their 2023 first, the Spurs will potentially get a first-round pick in 2025. However, that pick is top-10 protected in 2025, then top-eight protected each following year through 2028.
If Chicago sends Orlando their 2024 first, the earliest San Antonio would get the pick is 2026.
The Bulls are also owed a first-round pick from Portland, which is lottery-protected each of the next six years. If the pick is not conveyed, the Bulls will get a 2028 second from the Trail Blazers.
Here's how ESPN's Mike Schmitz has Chicago selecting in June:
No. 18: Tari Eason | PF | LSU
The Bulls ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency in the regular season, and they could without question use another versatile wing defender like Eason, one of the most productive and efficient all-around players in the NCAA as a 20-year-old junior.
While likely more of a 4/3 at the NBA level (a spot currently occupied by Patrick Williams), Eason played a fair amount of small-ball 5 in college and could give the Bulls a different look with his length and foot speed, as they're used to playing in deep drop coverage with Nikola Vucevic at the 5. Eason isn't the most polished ball handler or decision-maker and had his fair share of no-show games at LSU.
But the fact that he can add value as a transition finisher, rebounder, cutter, occasional spot shooter and defender at 6-8 with a 7-1 wingspan alongside a perimeter creator like DeMar DeRozan makes him an intriguing fit in Chicago.
-- Schmitz
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We need a more defensive minded coach. Vucevic needs to be involved more. We can't rely on Zach and Derozan contested shots in the play offs. We need to look at Boogie during the off-season.
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what we need is to trade vooch.... gobert and ayton might be available....bulls got to get one of those guys if they are on block
Ayton
PW
drozen
lavine
Ball
AC
thats a squad
PW needs to continue developing his offense, getting vooch shots out the line up will help with that...
not good, as of today ball still has pain in his knee......ugh.....watch this kid get surgery in july and miss the whole season
Ayton
PW
drozen
lavine
Ball
AC
thats a squad
PW needs to continue developing his offense, getting vooch shots out the line up will help with that...
not good, as of today ball still has pain in his knee......ugh.....watch this kid get surgery in july and miss the whole season
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Need Caruso to stay healthy.
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i really donāt know what we do from here. we didnt beat any good teams this year. that iso ball with demar and lavin is only going to get you so far.
i said it when the trade happened that i didnt like vooch, he is so up and down. trade him if you can. the offense would be much better if you let ball run it and stop that iso at the top of the key stuff.
i said it when the trade happened that i didnt like vooch, he is so up and down. trade him if you can. the offense would be much better if you let ball run it and stop that iso at the top of the key stuff.
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Please let Lavine walk, or sign and trade. Do not over pay for this guy.
Especially not with the injury he sustained and played on this season.
Buddy is the least impactful 20+ PPG scorer Iāve ever seen in my life. Canāt facilitate or play make. And is a traffic cone defensively.
In just one season Demar gets here and is so obviously the teams best player. Quite the indictment on Lavineās true quality as a player.
Iām not fooled by the athleticism, grace or at times aesthetically pleasing aspects to his game. Heās not an impact player. He doesnāt take over games and he doesnāt command his own team let alone the attention of the competition.
Especially not with the injury he sustained and played on this season.
Buddy is the least impactful 20+ PPG scorer Iāve ever seen in my life. Canāt facilitate or play make. And is a traffic cone defensively.
In just one season Demar gets here and is so obviously the teams best player. Quite the indictment on Lavineās true quality as a player.
Iām not fooled by the athleticism, grace or at times aesthetically pleasing aspects to his game. Heās not an impact player. He doesnāt take over games and he doesnāt command his own team let alone the attention of the competition.
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Iāve said since DAY ONE
He is not that guy
My homies thought I was CRAZY
He is not that guy
My homies thought I was CRAZY
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Heās a more athletic and aesthetically pleasing Kevin Martin.
He led us no where but the lottery multiple years in a row, in the 20 and 30 wins per season. He doesnāt have takeover game scoring ability, let alone superstar ability to dominate stretches of a season. And then on top of that his injury prone.
He plays no defense. Canāt play make and create for others.
Grayson Allen gave him work. And which was one of the predominant reasons why a Milwaukee curb stomped us in two games in Chicago.
And Deebo took the team from him in less than half a season.
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WELL i'm glad we resigned Lavine
better to have talented players than NOT....20/21 season zach was a very very good 4th quarter player and had plenty of clutch moments ON weak team where we replaced most of the players.......this past season yes he took backseat lead to derozen but still had his moments as well. funny to knock a player for scoring when we just saw in the finals a team like the Cs who looked around for scoring and had no one step up
yea Derozen was great for us, but its comical to give Lavine blame for seasons he had no talent on the team. What did you expect?
bulls traded Butler who was on a NON playoff team for lavine coming off an injury and before derozen his best teammate was vooch for half season.
Derozen is older, 6 time allstar what did you want Lavine to do? say nah this is my team and fight for shots with derozen? if anything credit should be given to him for taking a slight backseat to the more experienced/talented(for now) derozen.
I was thinking when we gave up all that talent for vooch that we should have just ripped it down and rebuilt by trading away lavine(wasnt big fan of lavine either), but now i'm enjoying watching a team that is playoff good. Lavine def has improved from his time in minny and only 27 def can improve a bit more.
if bullls are going to be a legit contender they need lavine and drozen to give up some of their many shots for development of PW, if he can become a legit scoring threat to have 3 guys at end of games will exploit a teams weakness on defense by 1-2 of our guys for sure.
lavines Defense is not great but its not the worst....i'd say he is around avg, in that area this was his best season on D.
why lie about allen? did you watch the games or just the box scores? 90% of allens offense was open 3s created by giannis you act like allen destroyed lavine by creating open jumpshots for himself or drive by him......its a lie....why lie? I just dont get it
better to have talented players than NOT....20/21 season zach was a very very good 4th quarter player and had plenty of clutch moments ON weak team where we replaced most of the players.......this past season yes he took backseat lead to derozen but still had his moments as well. funny to knock a player for scoring when we just saw in the finals a team like the Cs who looked around for scoring and had no one step up
yea Derozen was great for us, but its comical to give Lavine blame for seasons he had no talent on the team. What did you expect?
bulls traded Butler who was on a NON playoff team for lavine coming off an injury and before derozen his best teammate was vooch for half season.
Derozen is older, 6 time allstar what did you want Lavine to do? say nah this is my team and fight for shots with derozen? if anything credit should be given to him for taking a slight backseat to the more experienced/talented(for now) derozen.
I was thinking when we gave up all that talent for vooch that we should have just ripped it down and rebuilt by trading away lavine(wasnt big fan of lavine either), but now i'm enjoying watching a team that is playoff good. Lavine def has improved from his time in minny and only 27 def can improve a bit more.
if bullls are going to be a legit contender they need lavine and drozen to give up some of their many shots for development of PW, if he can become a legit scoring threat to have 3 guys at end of games will exploit a teams weakness on defense by 1-2 of our guys for sure.
lavines Defense is not great but its not the worst....i'd say he is around avg, in that area this was his best season on D.
why lie about allen? did you watch the games or just the box scores? 90% of allens offense was open 3s created by giannis you act like allen destroyed lavine by creating open jumpshots for himself or drive by him......its a lie....why lie? I just dont get it
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Lavine got no heart man get him the **** outta here
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Bring Back Thibs
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Agreed. No teeth or dog in that guy.
Bulls fans pumped at his ludicrous contract signing are playing mental gymnastics or just donāt understand the game. Heās talented but that doesnāt mean **** with our dimension and intangibles.
Lavine is at best a 3rd option on a championship club. He led us no where but the lottery pre DeMar. Who immediately became our best player. Zach scored but usually doesnāt even get meaningful momentum baskets or scoring binges. Lacks take over the game tenacity and ability.
Only positive in his signing is letting the league know we will still play our top players in Chicago and want to keep them here as some form of loyalty. Thatās it.
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Lonzo ball was a key to our hot start....high IQ, above avg D......shame we are not going to have him to start the season, hopefully they fixed the issue this time and hes back to running with us in Dec
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
NBA 2022: Lonzo Ball's pesky knee injury -- a timeline
By Jamal Collier
ESPN.com
THE CHICAGO BULLS were hosting the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 14 in a marquee matchup featuring, at the time, the top seed in the East versus the top seed in the West, but one that quickly turned into a disaster for the home team.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine had already left the game in the opening minutes of the first quarter because of a knee injury that would linger for the rest of the season and now the Bulls were trailing by more than 30 points with about five minutes to go in the third quarter.
After Stephen Curry knocked down another 3-pointer to extend the Warriors' lead, Bulls coach Billy Donovan called a timeout with 5:02 remaining in the game. Coming out of the huddle, rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu replaced a wincing Lonzo Ball for the duration, a seemingly innocuous move with the team facing such a large deficit.
Ball's health wasn't even a topic during the postgame news conference that night, with concerns about LaVine's MRI scheduled for the following day and the Bulls' third double-digit loss in four games dominating the conversation.
Unbeknownst to everyone at the time, including Ball himself, he would not play another minute for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
Ball was ruled out of the following game the next day because of left knee soreness. By the next week, the team announced he would require arthroscopic knee surgery with a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks.
Ball was the catalyst for Chicago's red-hot start through the first half of last season with his pesky defense serving as a constant disrupter, his vision in the passing lanes producing easy transition baskets and his knowledge of the game leaving teammates raving. The Bulls were off to a 27-13 start when Ball injured his knee; they finished 19-23 down the stretch without him.
Ball turns 25 on Oct. 27 but played in 35 games last season, a career low during his five-year NBA tenure. But even in a handful of games, Ball's talent and impact on the court has been clear. What has been less clear has been his ability to stay healthy.
"He's gotten better every year; he was having another career year last year," Bulls guard Alex Caruso told ESPN earlier this month. "Shooting was lights out, the usage was up, assist percentage was up. Defensively, me and him went like top 5-10 guards in the league, on ball defense.
"We were that team last year [that couldn't stay healthy]. After maybe November, I don't think we had a full team, even through the playoffs. [Ball] is a worker, so he'll come back ready."
Now eight months have passed, and it remains unclear when Ball will be ready to rejoin the Bulls. There is confidence the bone bruise and meniscus tear is structurally sound following the surgery, but Ball still experiences pain when attempting certain basketball activities. Sources told ESPN earlier this month that Ball is not expected to participate when the team begins training camp, and he seems almost certain to miss the start of the regular season.
Here is a timeline of how a projected eight-week return for Ball turned into a summer filled with question marks.
Jan. 19, 2022: Donovan tells reporters Ball's left knee is not responding to the team's initial treatment plan.
Jan. 20, 2022: Ball is diagnosed with a bone bruise and small meniscus tear in his left knee that will require arthroscopic surgery following an "initial period of rest and targeted intervention."
Jan 28, 2022: Ball undergoes surgery in Los Angeles with Dr. Neal Elattrache.
March 12, 2022: During a video produced by the team, Ball is shown lifting weights and running on the court at the team practice facility, and he says: "Feeling pretty good. Obviously, it's a slow process. I definitely want to get back on the court as soon as possible."
March 21, 2022: With Ball experiencing discomfort while running, the Bulls announce they will "pull back" on Ball's rehab process, pushing him past the initial timeline.
March 31, 2022: Ball restarts the rehab process.
April 6, 2022: The Bulls officially rule Ball out for the rest of the 2021-22 season and playoffs. In a news release, the team says he is still experiencing pain with high-level physical activity.
WITH THREE GAMES remaining in the regular season -- on the morning between back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, two of Chicago's most likely potential playoff opponents -- the Bulls officially announced Ball would not return for the 2021-22 season.
By that point, the announcement felt like a fait accompli. The previous night, following a double-digit loss to the Bucks, Demar DeRozan was asked about the impact Ball made this season and reminisced on the "swagger and excitement" Ball's presence had brought to the team before finishing by saying Ball's "health is more important than anything."
The Bulls knew they were running up against the clock, but they had hoped a 10-day pause near the end of March would help with the discomfort Ball was feeling from running. When Donovan admitted earlier in the week Ball was having the same issues when they tried to ramp him back up, the end of his season seemed near. After the season, Ball acknowledged he was "going at it pretty hard" trying to get back on the court.
The Bulls were in first place for most of the first half of the season before their roster started getting decimated by injuries, and there was internal belief in giving their roster another chance, alongside the return of Patrick Williams, who missed most of last season because of a wrist injury.
"Especially for the younger guys it'll be a lot better for them just to kind of already have that understanding of what we want to try and do," Caruso said. "For the older guys on the team, it's understanding how everybody likes to get to their spots. What you're going to get from everybody night in and night out so you understand how to play with guys or what looks they're looking for coming off pick-and-rolls or transition or isolation.
"I think that extra year of us not having to learn on the go is going to be really beneficial."
Before Ball's injury, the Bulls ranked sixth in points per game off turnovers while Ball ranked in the top 10 in the league in transition assists. He shot a career-high 42.3% from 3 on 7.4 attempts per game helping keep Chicago's 3-point shooting afloat -- despite taking the fewest number of 3s in the NBA (30.3 attempts per game), the Bulls made them with the highest frequency (38.6%).
However, in Ball's absence, those traits all but disappeared from the Bulls' offense. They plunged toward the bottom in points per game off turnovers (26th) and failed to replicate his 3-point shooting, still attempting the fewest 3s in the league but now making them with the 22nd-most frequency.
During their first-round playoff series, Milwaukee all but dared Chicago to beat it from behind the line, and the Bulls couldn't capitalize, shooting a league-worst 28% from 3 in the postseason.
"Every time you watch the game, you feel like you can leave an impact on the game," Ball said during his end of the season exit interview in April. "I feel like my shooting could've for sure helped. And also obviously defensively versus the guys they have on the other side that are All-Stars.
"You can't change what already happened. I couldn't be out there. So I didn't tell the guys, 'Oh, I wish I was out there with y'all.' Or, 'I could've been doing this if I was there.' It was more about them. They were there. They were ready. And I was just encouraging them."
April 8, 2022: Bulls lose to the Charlotte Hornets, locking them into sixth in the East.
April 20, 2022: Bulls shock the Bucks in Game 2, their last win of the season.
April 27, 2022: The Bulls are eliminated in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Bucks.
April 28, 2022: At his exit interview, Ball says his knee recovery is at a standstill.
"Obviously something needs to be addressed this summer. A lot more leg workouts as opposed to probably upper body. I'm going to work with the doctors and strength coaches and do what I've got to do to get healthy."
May 18, 2022: Ball's father, Lavar, tells NBC Sports Chicago he took issue with how quickly his son began running again after the surgery. "It's too fast and it's too hard, and that's when I knew he's not going to be able to play. They're training him the wrong way."
June 23, 2022: Speaking to reporters on the night of the NBA draft, Bulls general manager Marc Eversley says Bulls performance staff is working with Ball and Ball's trainers on his rehab in Los Angeles. When asked whether Ball would be ready for training camp, Eversley says he "certainly hopes so."
AS THE BULLS' summer league squad took the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for their first game against the Dallas Mavericks on July 8, a large contingent of the current Bulls formed a cheering section down the sidelines.
Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley sat in seats along the baseline aside coach Billy Donovan and a few assistant coaches, while 40% of their current roster sat to their right along the sidelines -- DeRozan, Williams, Coby White, Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu and Ball.
Ball wore an all-black T-shirt with black shorts while sporting a black Washington Nationals cap. He smiled and politely declined an interview with reporters as to not detract from the summer league team's 100-99 overtime win that day but said he was doing well as he made toward the exit.
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But a few days later during a broadcast of another summer league game Karnisovas delivered a less-than-encouraging assessment of Ball's status, saying Ball was "getting better, probably not at the speed we would like."
Since becoming lead executive in April 2020, Karnisovas has flipped the bulk of the roster, with only LaVine and White remaining from the players he inherited. But after 18 months of roster overhaul, "continuity" has been the buzzword while the team remained quiet at both the trade deadline and during the offseason. After re-signing LaVine to a max contract, the Bulls added a couple of veterans in Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic.
"I hope for continuity because we're constantly competing against teams that have been together for three, four, five years," Karnisovas said at his exit interview on April 28. "Results come obviously when you keep the same group [and] when you keep the same group longer."
The Bulls made an attempt to address their lack of shooting in the offseason and were in the running to sign forward Danilo Gallinari before he chose to sign with the Boston Celtics and eventually suffered a torn ACL this summer. Adding a 14-year NBA veteran like Dragic, a career 36.2% 3-point shooter, could help provide a boost from behind the line, but the move was intended to provide guard depth and veteran presence behind the team's two young guards, Dosunmu and White, per a team source.
But the team's lack of major additions this offseason once again underscores the heighted importance of getting Ball back this season.
"We missed him greatly this year," Karnisovas said at the end of last season. "We missed his size, we missed him pushing the break. We got a little bit slower the second half of the season. ... We're missing him, but we also have to pay attention to what's going on there and we'll try and figure it out."
While the Bulls were focused on keeping their roster intact, the Eastern Conference appears to have gotten more competitive around them. The Bulls finished in sixth place in the East last season, but the three teams that finished directly behind them are the Brooklyn Nets, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving committed to the roster (for now at least), the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made major trades this offseason to add Dejounte Murray and Donovan Mitchell, respectively.
The Bulls have a deep rotation of guards to absorb a potential absence from Ball with LaVine and Caruso rounded out by White, Dosunmu and Dragic coming off the bench. But after returning to the postseason for the first time in five years, the Bulls find themselves in a familiar position for the organization: entering a season with their playoff hopes, perhaps, hinging on the health of their point guard.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
NBA 2022: Lonzo Ball's pesky knee injury -- a timeline
By Jamal Collier
ESPN.com
THE CHICAGO BULLS were hosting the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 14 in a marquee matchup featuring, at the time, the top seed in the East versus the top seed in the West, but one that quickly turned into a disaster for the home team.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine had already left the game in the opening minutes of the first quarter because of a knee injury that would linger for the rest of the season and now the Bulls were trailing by more than 30 points with about five minutes to go in the third quarter.
After Stephen Curry knocked down another 3-pointer to extend the Warriors' lead, Bulls coach Billy Donovan called a timeout with 5:02 remaining in the game. Coming out of the huddle, rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu replaced a wincing Lonzo Ball for the duration, a seemingly innocuous move with the team facing such a large deficit.
Ball's health wasn't even a topic during the postgame news conference that night, with concerns about LaVine's MRI scheduled for the following day and the Bulls' third double-digit loss in four games dominating the conversation.
Unbeknownst to everyone at the time, including Ball himself, he would not play another minute for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
Ball was ruled out of the following game the next day because of left knee soreness. By the next week, the team announced he would require arthroscopic knee surgery with a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks.
Ball was the catalyst for Chicago's red-hot start through the first half of last season with his pesky defense serving as a constant disrupter, his vision in the passing lanes producing easy transition baskets and his knowledge of the game leaving teammates raving. The Bulls were off to a 27-13 start when Ball injured his knee; they finished 19-23 down the stretch without him.
Ball turns 25 on Oct. 27 but played in 35 games last season, a career low during his five-year NBA tenure. But even in a handful of games, Ball's talent and impact on the court has been clear. What has been less clear has been his ability to stay healthy.
"He's gotten better every year; he was having another career year last year," Bulls guard Alex Caruso told ESPN earlier this month. "Shooting was lights out, the usage was up, assist percentage was up. Defensively, me and him went like top 5-10 guards in the league, on ball defense.
"We were that team last year [that couldn't stay healthy]. After maybe November, I don't think we had a full team, even through the playoffs. [Ball] is a worker, so he'll come back ready."
Now eight months have passed, and it remains unclear when Ball will be ready to rejoin the Bulls. There is confidence the bone bruise and meniscus tear is structurally sound following the surgery, but Ball still experiences pain when attempting certain basketball activities. Sources told ESPN earlier this month that Ball is not expected to participate when the team begins training camp, and he seems almost certain to miss the start of the regular season.
Here is a timeline of how a projected eight-week return for Ball turned into a summer filled with question marks.
Jan. 19, 2022: Donovan tells reporters Ball's left knee is not responding to the team's initial treatment plan.
Jan. 20, 2022: Ball is diagnosed with a bone bruise and small meniscus tear in his left knee that will require arthroscopic surgery following an "initial period of rest and targeted intervention."
Jan 28, 2022: Ball undergoes surgery in Los Angeles with Dr. Neal Elattrache.
March 12, 2022: During a video produced by the team, Ball is shown lifting weights and running on the court at the team practice facility, and he says: "Feeling pretty good. Obviously, it's a slow process. I definitely want to get back on the court as soon as possible."
March 21, 2022: With Ball experiencing discomfort while running, the Bulls announce they will "pull back" on Ball's rehab process, pushing him past the initial timeline.
March 31, 2022: Ball restarts the rehab process.
April 6, 2022: The Bulls officially rule Ball out for the rest of the 2021-22 season and playoffs. In a news release, the team says he is still experiencing pain with high-level physical activity.
WITH THREE GAMES remaining in the regular season -- on the morning between back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, two of Chicago's most likely potential playoff opponents -- the Bulls officially announced Ball would not return for the 2021-22 season.
By that point, the announcement felt like a fait accompli. The previous night, following a double-digit loss to the Bucks, Demar DeRozan was asked about the impact Ball made this season and reminisced on the "swagger and excitement" Ball's presence had brought to the team before finishing by saying Ball's "health is more important than anything."
The Bulls knew they were running up against the clock, but they had hoped a 10-day pause near the end of March would help with the discomfort Ball was feeling from running. When Donovan admitted earlier in the week Ball was having the same issues when they tried to ramp him back up, the end of his season seemed near. After the season, Ball acknowledged he was "going at it pretty hard" trying to get back on the court.
The Bulls were in first place for most of the first half of the season before their roster started getting decimated by injuries, and there was internal belief in giving their roster another chance, alongside the return of Patrick Williams, who missed most of last season because of a wrist injury.
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"I think that extra year of us not having to learn on the go is going to be really beneficial."
Before Ball's injury, the Bulls ranked sixth in points per game off turnovers while Ball ranked in the top 10 in the league in transition assists. He shot a career-high 42.3% from 3 on 7.4 attempts per game helping keep Chicago's 3-point shooting afloat -- despite taking the fewest number of 3s in the NBA (30.3 attempts per game), the Bulls made them with the highest frequency (38.6%).
However, in Ball's absence, those traits all but disappeared from the Bulls' offense. They plunged toward the bottom in points per game off turnovers (26th) and failed to replicate his 3-point shooting, still attempting the fewest 3s in the league but now making them with the 22nd-most frequency.
During their first-round playoff series, Milwaukee all but dared Chicago to beat it from behind the line, and the Bulls couldn't capitalize, shooting a league-worst 28% from 3 in the postseason.
"Every time you watch the game, you feel like you can leave an impact on the game," Ball said during his end of the season exit interview in April. "I feel like my shooting could've for sure helped. And also obviously defensively versus the guys they have on the other side that are All-Stars.
"You can't change what already happened. I couldn't be out there. So I didn't tell the guys, 'Oh, I wish I was out there with y'all.' Or, 'I could've been doing this if I was there.' It was more about them. They were there. They were ready. And I was just encouraging them."
April 8, 2022: Bulls lose to the Charlotte Hornets, locking them into sixth in the East.
April 20, 2022: Bulls shock the Bucks in Game 2, their last win of the season.
April 27, 2022: The Bulls are eliminated in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Bucks.
April 28, 2022: At his exit interview, Ball says his knee recovery is at a standstill.
"Obviously something needs to be addressed this summer. A lot more leg workouts as opposed to probably upper body. I'm going to work with the doctors and strength coaches and do what I've got to do to get healthy."
May 18, 2022: Ball's father, Lavar, tells NBC Sports Chicago he took issue with how quickly his son began running again after the surgery. "It's too fast and it's too hard, and that's when I knew he's not going to be able to play. They're training him the wrong way."
June 23, 2022: Speaking to reporters on the night of the NBA draft, Bulls general manager Marc Eversley says Bulls performance staff is working with Ball and Ball's trainers on his rehab in Los Angeles. When asked whether Ball would be ready for training camp, Eversley says he "certainly hopes so."
AS THE BULLS' summer league squad took the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for their first game against the Dallas Mavericks on July 8, a large contingent of the current Bulls formed a cheering section down the sidelines.
Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley sat in seats along the baseline aside coach Billy Donovan and a few assistant coaches, while 40% of their current roster sat to their right along the sidelines -- DeRozan, Williams, Coby White, Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu and Ball.
Ball wore an all-black T-shirt with black shorts while sporting a black Washington Nationals cap. He smiled and politely declined an interview with reporters as to not detract from the summer league team's 100-99 overtime win that day but said he was doing well as he made toward the exit.
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But a few days later during a broadcast of another summer league game Karnisovas delivered a less-than-encouraging assessment of Ball's status, saying Ball was "getting better, probably not at the speed we would like."
Since becoming lead executive in April 2020, Karnisovas has flipped the bulk of the roster, with only LaVine and White remaining from the players he inherited. But after 18 months of roster overhaul, "continuity" has been the buzzword while the team remained quiet at both the trade deadline and during the offseason. After re-signing LaVine to a max contract, the Bulls added a couple of veterans in Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic.
"I hope for continuity because we're constantly competing against teams that have been together for three, four, five years," Karnisovas said at his exit interview on April 28. "Results come obviously when you keep the same group [and] when you keep the same group longer."
The Bulls made an attempt to address their lack of shooting in the offseason and were in the running to sign forward Danilo Gallinari before he chose to sign with the Boston Celtics and eventually suffered a torn ACL this summer. Adding a 14-year NBA veteran like Dragic, a career 36.2% 3-point shooter, could help provide a boost from behind the line, but the move was intended to provide guard depth and veteran presence behind the team's two young guards, Dosunmu and White, per a team source.
But the team's lack of major additions this offseason once again underscores the heighted importance of getting Ball back this season.
"We missed him greatly this year," Karnisovas said at the end of last season. "We missed his size, we missed him pushing the break. We got a little bit slower the second half of the season. ... We're missing him, but we also have to pay attention to what's going on there and we'll try and figure it out."
While the Bulls were focused on keeping their roster intact, the Eastern Conference appears to have gotten more competitive around them. The Bulls finished in sixth place in the East last season, but the three teams that finished directly behind them are the Brooklyn Nets, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving committed to the roster (for now at least), the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made major trades this offseason to add Dejounte Murray and Donovan Mitchell, respectively.
The Bulls have a deep rotation of guards to absorb a potential absence from Ball with LaVine and Caruso rounded out by White, Dosunmu and Dragic coming off the bench. But after returning to the postseason for the first time in five years, the Bulls find themselves in a familiar position for the organization: entering a season with their playoff hopes, perhaps, hinging on the health of their point guard.
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The Lonzo Ball knee issue is more than concerning, heās basically been out since January with it. Was rehabbing for 6 to 8 months and now needs surgery as well? This kid is built like tissue paper. He was one of the most pivotal aspect to our team playing so well but damn
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Sad to say it, but I think he's done.
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Hope Goran can flourish man, I think heās got some left in the tank
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What kind of bulls fan are you? The guy is on our team. WE want and need him to flourish.
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Iām a realistic fan who watches the entire league. I would love for him to do well. Have you watched him since 2020 with his injuries? Heās a shell of the player he used to be
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He was descent in 2020 and injured and DNP for much of last year. A change of scenery can make a world of difference
