Bulls add Chicago native McKinnie as second hardship player
The Bulls signed forward Alfonzo McKinnie to a 10-day contract on Friday. Both he and Stanley Johnson could see action Saturday when the Bulls face the Miami Heat at the renamed FTX Arena.
McKinnie and Johnson were added to the roster under the NBA's hardship exemption, because the Bulls have five players currently in health and safety protocols. That group includes DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, Javonte Green, Matt Thomas and Derrick Jones Jr.
McKinnie is a Chicago native who attended Marshall High School. He was an original member of the Windy City Bulls, joining the team after attending a tryout camp. He never played for the NBA Bulls, but after a year in Hoffman Estates, signed with the Toronto Raptors.
In 2018-19, McKinnie appeared in 72 games for the Golden State Warriors and saw action in all six NBA Finals games that season. He was with Cleveland in 2019-20, the Lakers last season and was playing for the new Mexico City team in the G-League, averaging 24.1 points and 9.8 rebounds in 10 games this year.
Miami will be short-handed as well for this game, with both Jimmy Butler (tailbone) and Bam Adebayo (thumb) ruled out. Butler is still recovering from a hard fall he took against the Bulls Nov. 27 at the United Center. He tried to play on Monday against Memphis, but had to cut the night short.
The Bulls are hopeful forward Alex Caruso will be able to return from two games off with a sore hamstring. He's officially listed as questionable for this game.
White and Green are approaching 10 days in quarantine, so those players might be nearing a return, but it requires two negative COVID tests and passing some cardio thresholds. After facing Miami, the Bulls have two days off before hosting Detroit on Tuesday.
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