Bulls up to five players in protocols as Jones joins list
The number of Bulls players in health and safety protocols reached five when forward Derrick Jones Jr. was added to the list, according to an ESPN report.
Jones joins DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, Javonte Green and Matt Thomas. After a loss in Cleveland on Wednesday, the Bulls flew to Miami, where they await a date with the Heat Saturday.
The Bulls officially signed forward Stanley Johnson on Thursday and he figures to be available for Saturday's contest. The former lottery pick was with the Bulls in preseason, and most recently played for the Lakers G-League team.
Johnson was signed using a hardship roster exception, which the NBA can grant if a team has at least four players out of action and expected to miss at least two weeks. It wasn't immediately clear if the Bulls planned to add a second hardship player.
After the Miami game, White will have spent 10 days in quarantine, so he and Green could be close to a return, but that requires two negative COVID tests and the players must pass some cardio thresholds. After playing Miami, the Bulls will have two more days off before hosting Detroit Tuesday.
Besides the players in health and safety protocols, forward Alex Caruso has missed the past two games with a sore hamstring. Coach Billy Donovan said before Wednesday's game that Caruso is feeling better and would ramp up his activity, which could make a return for the Miami game a possibility. The official injury report for Bulls-Heat will be out Friday afternoon.
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