Bulls more closer to full strength, but does it even matter?

When the Bulls returned to practice Wednesday, the Advocate Center was filled with equipment used for photo shoots and video board clips.

All that stuff is typically reserved for media day in September, but the Bulls had to pull it out of the crawlspace since there are now seven new players on the roster after a flurry of deals at the trade deadline.

The Bulls will not be whole when play resumes Thursday against Toronto at the United Center. Head coach Billy Donovan is away from the team and expected to miss the next game due to the death of his father, Bill, Sr. Lead assistant Wes Unseld Jr., said he expects Donovan to be back Saturday against Detroit.

But the Bulls should have three players back — Josh Giddey, Tre Jones and Jalen Smith — who haven't yet played with the seven new additions. As a helpful reminder, the new Bulls are Jaden Ivey, Anfernee Simons, Collin Sexton, Rob Dillingham, Guerschon Yabusele, Nick Richards and Leonard Miller.

“I went through everything (at Wednesday's practice), feeling good,” said Giddey, who's been out since Jab. 28 with a hamstring strain. “Me and Tre have been playing 3-on-3 after shootarounds and practices. So it wasn't our first introduction to live, but today we went 5-on-5 full court. As I said, I feel good.”

So it will be interesting to see how this new roster looks with Giddey running the show. But does it even matter? Every new player except for Dillingham is at the end of a contract, so there's no telling if any of them has a future with the Bulls. Ivey is at least a restricted free agent, so the Bulls could match any contract offer he gets from another team.

By saying goodbye to Coby White, Nikola Vucevic, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips, the Bulls seem to be acknowledging it's time to take a backward step. The goal is obviously to get a high draft pick, but lottery luck is always the biggest factor.

At the moment, the Bulls are the No. 10 lottery seed. Even if they barely win over these final 27 games, they're not likely to drop more than a spot or two.

Giddey was asked if he's been kept apprised of the team's future plans or if that 's even relevant.

“Whatever the front office is doing in terms of trades or bringing in personnel, our job is to go out there and win games,” Giddey said. “We don't look too deeply into what the plan is moving forward. We try to take it one day at a time, one game at a time. For the last 27 games, this is who we've got.”

The Bulls (24-31) limped into the all-star break with a six-game losing streak. They should be better with Giddey, Jones and Smith back. The team was absurdly undersized after trading Vucevic. The 6-7 Yabusele started at center, but Smith figures to resume that role. Zach Collins (toe) remains out.

There's also an abundance of guards, which was an issue before the trades. The Bulls want to see what they have in Dillingham, the No. 8 pick of the 2024 draft, but he's the third point guard on the roster, with Giddey and Jones.

“Fortunately, the guys we brought in are all great guys, and willing to buy into what we're doing here,” Giddey said. “Hopefully, we can get this thing kicked off on the right foot after the all-star break, but I like the group that we've got and we have 27 games left to make something of it.”

Buzelis a winner

Matas Buzelis was the Bulls' lone representative at all-star weekend in Los Angeles, and his team won the Rising Stars tournament. He played on a squad coached by Vince Carter, and his teammates included rookies V.J. Edgecombe and Derik Queen.

“I told all the guys, me, Kyshawn George, we were like, 'We're playing to win. Why not?'” Buzelis said. “V.J. was amazing.”

Buzelis tried the dunk contest last year, but said dunking legend Carter had no tips on how to win the event.

“He (Carter) was sad I didn't do the dunk contest (this time),” Buzelis said. “He really wanted me in it, but it is what it is. I'll definitely do it (again) in the future.”