Changes may be coming after Bulls lose again
The Bulls were severely short-handed once again Sunday afternoon.
But instead of a gritty, surprising performance, like they've done a couple of times when missing top scorer Jimmy Butler, the Bulls were bad from start to finish in a 117-89 loss to Minnesota.
Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau completed a season sweep of his former team, even though Minnesota remains out of playoff contention in the West at 21-34. After the game, Thibodeau spoke highly of the Bulls.
"I really root for that team, those guys, particularly the ones I've coached before," he said. "I want them to do well except when we play against them. It's a great basketball city. It's a great organization. I had five great years there."
Butler played Friday in Phoenix but decided his bruised right heel needed another day of rest. Dwyane Wade sat out after injuring his wrist against the Suns, although X-rays were negative.
Nikola Mirotic sat out with back spasms, and Paul Zipser missed his second straight game with ankle tendinitis and also the stomach flu.
The Bulls (26-29) fell behind 31-12 at the start and never made much of a run. They finished the ice-show road trip with a 2-4 record after losing the final three by an average margin of 26 points.
"The poor starts have really affected our team," coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters after the game. "We played them even in the second, even in the third. You get off to a poor start, you dig yourself a big hole. We just don't have enough."
Changes may be coming soon. With the Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline less than two weeks away, it's a given that Bulls management is making calls to try to improve the roster.
For now, a name to watch is Philadelphia big man Jahlil Okafor. The Chicago native sat out Saturday against Miami and reportedly did not make the trip to Charlotte for Monday's game. Sixers coach Brett Brown acknowledged that Okafor sat out because of an impending trade, although no deal appeared to be in place as of early Sunday evening.
The Bulls, Pelicans and Blazers have been mentioned as potential trade partners.
Okafor won an Illinois state title at Whitney Young in 2014, then helped lead Duke to the NCAA title as a freshman. He was the No. 3 pick of the NBA draft in 2015 and averaged 17.5 points as a rookie for the 76ers, then saw his playing time drop this year as Joel Embiid returned from an injury.
It's not clear which players the Bulls could include if this trade comes to fruition, but assuming they're going to build around Butler and hang on to Wade, everyone else on the roster figures to be in play.
Taj Gibson would be a valuable asset for most teams, but he's set to become a free agent this summer, which limits his value since a new team may not be able to keep him.
Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis were the Bulls' top scorers Sunday with 16 points each. McDermott started and knocked down 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range. The point guards had rough games. Michael Carter-Williams and Rajon Rondo combined for 11 turnovers, to go with 12 assists.
The Bulls pulled off a Shaqtin' a Fool classic late in the third quarter when on a 4-on-1 break, Carter-Williams held the ball too long, then his dish for Cristiano Felicio sailed behind the big man and out of bounds for a turnover.
"I think four games in a row now teams have shot over 50 percent, and we're just not as effective when we're taking it out of the net as opposed to getting it off the rim," Hoiberg said. "We made a little run when we did get stops. It's got to be more important."
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