There has been no mandate from the front office to play the “New Guys,” but Billy Donovan doesn’t need one. The coach knows that with just 28 games left in the regular season there’s questions that need answering.
That’s why Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones all played in Tuesday’s game against the Pistons, which was the first time all three played since being acquired before the trade deadline in the Zach LaVine three-team deal.
Jones and Huerter saw action in Saturday’s loss to Golden State.
“(The front office hasn’t) come out and said that to me like that, but I do think that there would be organizationally, no question, you want to find out about those guys, they’re here,” Donovan said. “Can they help our team, can they impact our team, and who are they as players? Right. There hasn’t been, ‘Hey, let’s play these guys right now.’ “
Huerter and Collins are both signed through the 2025-26 season, with Huerter costing $17.9 million next year and Collins at $18 million. Jones is a free agent, and considering the logjam at guard he will likely be shopping for a new team.
But just because Huerter and Collins are signed it doesn’t mean the Bulls won’t be exploring trade avenues for one or both. Every player not named Matas Buzelis will be on the table for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to make a decision on.
Donovan knows he can help that process along by providing as much information as he can to Karnisovas and the rest of the front office.
“I do think it is important we find out about them,” Donovan said. “They’re here. I’d like to try to, at least from my perspective and I’m sure from the front office’s perspective, you want to explore the entire roster.”
Last man standing
Coby White has been a Bull longer than Nikola Vucevic, but Vucevic was the first piece of the rebuild when Karnisovas first flipped the roster.
He’s watched good friend, and former college teammate, DeMar DeRozan go, Alex Caruso go, LaVine go, and despite all the rumors at the deadline last week, he stayed.
What Donovan has seen from him in the wake of that is a guy that has remained a professional. The proper response as far as Donovan was concerned.
“This has efficiency-wise been one of the better years of his career, and I think it would be a terrible mistake for him to throw all that away because of, ‘Gosh, the team is a lot different.’ “ Donovan said of Vucevic. “There’s going to be iterations to this (rebuild). There’s going to be the trade deadline, then the draft, free agency, there’s going to be conversations, but I would say the best thing he can do is: One, help the group and play well, and that’s going to help him in all honesty. The best thing you can do is pick-up and move forward, and he’s been great.”
Ball out
Lonzo Ball doesn’t do back-to-backs this season, but he wouldn’t have been able to play on Tuesday anyway, still at home dealing with an illness.
He was only scheduled to play in one of the games against the Pistons, but his status for the rematch on Wednesday was still up in the air, according to Donovan.