SAN FRANCISCO – Billy Donovan is well-versed in answering trade deadline questions, especially since the Bulls coach does talk almost daily with executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
The latest update from Donovan on Thursday? There wasn’t a whole lot to update.
“From my perspective not really,” Donovan said of possible trade talks heating up. “Again, I think (Karnisovas is) on the phone quite a bit, but like I always tell you guys is one, I don’t ask a lot of questions. I always trust he’s going to come to me on different things. I also think that it seems like around the league, and it’s just the way it is, it’s almost like everybody waits until the 12th hour for things to happen.”
Especially this season when there’s still a huge boulder that needs to be moved.
Most teams looking to make a splash are admittedly waiting to see what happens in Miami with disgruntled All-Star wing Jimmy Butler.
The Bulls are no different.
There have also been scenarios floating out there that the Bulls could be a third or fourth team in a major deal involving Butler if something was to go down.
What Donovan would say is that the organization is well aware of living in the middle of the NBA is on a slow boat to nowhere.
“No one wants to be in the middle,” Donovan said. “You want to find a way to get out of the middle and pick a direction, so to speak. I just know in the past and talking to (Karnisovas), you can have an idea of things you want to do, but you need another partner to make those things happen, right. We want to help the group get better, pick a direction, and I’m sure he’s having conversations on every aspect of how to make us get better.”
Battered and bruised
The Bulls received further details on the right ankle/foot injury and it wasn’t great.
According to Donovan, White met with doctors in Los Angeles while the team was there, had some more imaging done and they concluded he was dealing with a bone bruise.
“Those are a little bit tricky, quite honestly,” Donovan said. “Talking to the medical guys it could end up being a week, it could be longer. But I think the feeling right now is to get him to Sunday. Which I think the Portland game was last Sunday, that would be a whole week, and then maybe kind of re-evaluate where he’s at. But it’s one of those things we just don’t know.”
White was pulled from that loss against the Trail Blazers after he planted the foot wrong and then Donovan didn’t like the way he was moving.
Where it gets interesting with White, however, is like most of the Bulls roster, the combo guard is seeing his name heat up in the trade rumors. The timing for a lingering injury couldn’t be worse.
Veteran blues
Torrey Craig missed his 11th straight game, still dealing with a knee issue that turned into an ankle sprain, and there was still no timetable for the veteran forward to return.
Craig has only played in nine games for the Bulls this season, and is in the final year of his deal, making $2.8 million.