Bulls' Donovan concerned with Williams' well-being during rehab
Of the four first-round picks from the Bulls' rebuilding era, two have been traded and now two are on the shelf recovering from injuries.
Coby White is expected to return sometime in November from offseason shoulder surgery, while Patrick Williams will miss 4-6 months while recovering from surgery to fix a dislocated left wrist.
"Certainly not the most ideal situation for their development," coach Billy Donovan said before the game. "I haven't seen Coby yet against any contact. How far is he set back in terms of him getting back to what he's been and did he lose a development piece with this injury, being out for so many months? Same thing with Patrick."
Donovan also talked about concern for Williams' well-being while he goes through months of rehab and recovery.
"I think the more we can keep him engaged with our team (the better), because I think he can feel like he's over here on an island," Donovan said.
"He's going to need some direction and help because he's never been through this before. My concern is he's obviously going to have to keep his hand immobilized for a while. Even if he is able to come in and ride the bike or do lower body lifting, that may be for an hour. There's 23 hours left in the day.
"I think his nutrition becomes heavily critical. He's probably going to lose a significant amount of muscle mass, just in his upper body because he's not going to be able to lift. I think once the surgery's out and some time passes by, we'll have to lay out a pretty good plan to help him going forward."
Green gets call:
Billy Donovan typically doesn't reveal his starters until just before tipoff. So he didn't comment on the decision to start Javonte Green during his pregame availability, but did share some general thoughts on the team's new 6-foot-4 starting power forward.
"I just think his energy, his motor is really what we need from him," Donovan said. "He's been around, he knows who he is, he's comfortable with who he is. He knows that where he impacts our group is with his energy, so the more he's doing that, the more I think it enhances and helps our team."
Green started at the four spot in three preseason games while Patrick Williams was out with an ankle injury.
Snyder calls Bradley elite:
Bulls backup center Tony Bradley spent the first three years of his pro career with Utah. For two years, he got most of his playing time in the G-League, then logged 58 games for the Jazz in 2019-20.
"I think he's an elite offensive rebounder," Utah coach Quin Snyder said before Saturday's game. "It was fun to coach Tony. His last year with us was really impactful. I think he's got a great feel in pick-and-roll, which is accentuated because he's got great hands. You see that on the glass, you also see it in his ability to catch. He's gotten better. He's worked at it. He'll be in the league a long time."