Back from break, Chicago Bulls search for answers

The NBA trade deadline arrives Thursday, but the Bulls should assume no help is on the way.

The players reconvened at the Advocate Center on Tuesday evening following the all-star break. Heading into the break, the Bulls lost 13 of 18 games.

Two of the top four scorers, Jimmy Butler (knee) and Nikola Mirotic (appendectomy), are on the shelf and will likely be out for a couple more weeks at least. And even if a trade does transpire, new players may not arrive in time for a tough back-to-back of Cleveland on the road Thursday, followed by Toronto on Friday at the United Center.

The Cavs and Raptors are the top two teams in the East right now, but are both 0-2 against the Bulls this season.

“We know we're in a tough stretch right now,” Derrick Rose said after Tuesday's practice. “We still have 30 games to play. We still believe in each other. It's just that we just didn't catch that rhythm yet. Things can change.”

One problem with the Bulls' slump is there's no simple answer to what's gone wrong. It's been a little bit of everything. Missing Butler obviously hurts, but even after he suffered the left knee strain on Feb. 5, the Bulls squandered late leads against Denver and Minnesota. In the final two games before the break, they were barely competitive in losses to Charlotte and Atlanta.

The offense has struggled, the defense has been inconsistent and quite often, the Bulls don't get enough contribution from the reserves. So figuring out how to turn this around will be a challenge.

“That's what I spent all All-Star break doing: Watching a lot of film, our good stretches, our bad stretches; trying to figure things out to get this team on the right track,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. “That's all I can control right now, put this team in the best position possible to try to win games.”

Hoiberg supplied the lengthy injury update. Taj Gibson, who left the Atlanta game on Feb. 10 with a foot strain, was a full participant in practice. Mike Dunleavy, after recovering from back surgery, played his first three games of the season before the break. He's feeling good and should be ready to play more minutes.

Butler was chosen for the all-star game but wasn't able to play. He made the trip to Toronto and sat on the East bench in street clothes. According to the Bulls' diagnosis, Butler should be back in 2-3 weeks.

“Jimmy's feeling a lot better,” Hoiberg said. “He's walking pretty much without a limp now, but he's still probably a little way away from exploding and cutting off that leg.”

Mirotic sent out Instagram photos of himself doing leg lifts and running in the pool. It's still not clear when Mirotic might return, though. He had an appendectomy on Jan. 27, then had a complication and needed a hematoma removed a few days later.

“He still has pain in his abdomen,” Hoiberg said. “He's still down 10 or 11 pounds. He has not been cleared to get out on the floor and do any type of running. He's been in the weight room gradually doing some things. It will start in the pool, but it's still several weeks away.”

There haven't been many trade rumors involving the Bulls. They don't have a ton of attractive trade assets, with Pau Gasol able to opt out of his contract this summer, Joakim Noah out for the season with a shoulder injury and the younger players not panning out. With the salary cap on the rise, the Bulls may see the summer as a better time for a roster makeover.

John Paxson and Gar Forman have a tendency to make moves at the trade deadline when things aren't going well. But since the team still in playoff position, with Butler and Mirotic due to return from injuries, it's tough to tell how much urgency there is in the Bulls front office to make a move.

One rumor on espn.com had the Bulls offering Gibson to Toronto for power forward Patrick Patterson. If there's any truth to that rumor, the Bulls' motivation is probably to lower their luxury-tax bill. Gibson is the more accomplished player, but makes about $2.3 million more than Patterson this season.

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