Bulls leave two players at home for safe keeping
With Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Aricidiacono returning Friday from a seven-game absence due to contact tracing and safety protocols, the Bulls decided to leave a couple players in Chicago for safe keeping.
According to coach Billy Donovan, guard Devon Dotson and center Luke Kornet did not join the Bulls on their two-game trip to Oklahoma City and Dallas.
There were a couple of reasons for the move. It keeps them away from potential contact with players who might test positive for COVID-19. And by staying home, they can use the Advocate Center to do basketball workouts.
Donovan said one issue with travel this season is there's no easy access to gyms during the pandemic. So this move works sort of like the NFL's practice squad. If needed, Dotson and Kornet will be in ready to step into the rotation.
"Obviously, everybody knows we're in unusual times right now," Donovan said before the game. "We're trying to figure out ways - one, we can keep our group safer, and, two, how do we keep these guys in shape?
"I look at it as a positive because with Luke and Devon, if something else happens to our team, those guys could very easily be in the mix, and we have to keep them ready."
There were reports of the NBA talking about adding a third two-way player to each team's roster, so there's a better chance of teams having enough players available to keep the season going.
Since last Sunday, there have been nine games canceled in the NBA - including Celtics at Bulls last Tuesday - and three more have already been scratched over the next three days.
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