RealGM Basketball Wiretap

21 November 2024

• Patrick Williams, Lonzo Ball Out At Least One Week

  Patrick Williams and Lonzo Ball are set to miss at least one week with injuries, according to Billy Donovan.

  Williams, who played 31 minutes against the Pistons on Monday, is recovering from inflammation in his surgically repaired right foot.

  Williams underwent season-ending surgery on the foot last February.

  "In the game [Monday], he mentioned he was feeling [discomfort] more at halftime. After the game, he started to feel a lot more pain than he was feeling beforehand," said Donovan.

  Ball is currently rehabbing his sprained right wrist, with activity ramping up next week.

  "For him to be really ramped up where we can actually see [how he responds] I would say through the weekend and middle of next week, hopefully he'll be able to do a lot more," said Donovan.

• Josh Giddey Says His Lack Of Defense Is Keeping Him Off The Floor

  Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan hasn't had Josh Giddey in his closing lineup over the last week. Giddey knows that it's his defense that's keeping him off the floor.

  "It was horrible from start to finish," Giddey said of his play. "I think defensively it was just - and I'm talking about me - it was a mess from the jump. They put me in action, I have to be way better, whether it's coverage or sitting down and guarding somebody. I don't even blame it on the fouls. It was part of it, but everything else was just as bad. I wouldn't have played myself if I was Billy. I was bad on both sides of the ball."

  Giddey felt he had been improving defensively, but recognizes he's taken a step back.

  "It pisses me off to be on that side of the ball and be like that," Giddey said. "I thought I was making steps in the right direction. To have a night like I did tonight kind of kills your confidence."

  However, Donovan said he's still "got confidence" in Giddey. The Bulls coach said to expect to see the young wing back in closing lineups eventually.

• Zach LaVine, Billy Donovan Have Improved Relationship

  Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and head coach Billy Donovan have repaired their relationship. After a couple of seasons of barely speaking to each other, LaVine and Donovan is back to where it was before things got frosty between the two.

  LaVine is healthy and engaged in the offensive and defensive systems Donovan has employed this season. That includes a new level of commitment from LaVine on defense.

  "I'm definitely trying," LaVine said of his defense. "I know what I can do on that end, especially in isolation one-on-one, and just try and make it tough on them."

  Donovan appreciates that buy-in from his star player.

  "I really respect and admire what he's doing because he's trying to play on both ends of the floor and he's giving everything he has on both ends," Donovan said.

• Josh Giddey 'Plays Exactly How Bulls Want To Play'

  While the Chicago Bulls were offered as many as two first round picks at the 2024 trade deadline for Alex Caruso, they instead traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June for Josh Giddey. The trade came as a surprise to many as Giddey's role with the Thunder had been diminished. But the Bulls saw Giddey as a young prospect with elite passing skills that could help improve fellow young players such as Coby White, Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu.

  "[Giddey] plays exactly how we want to play," Eversley told ESPN.

  The Bulls view the Giddey acquisition as similar to when they traded for Lonzo Ball in 2021.

  "My job is just to make these guys' life easy," Giddey told ESPN.

  "I'm trying to get Zach the ball, Coby the ball, get these guys easy looks and take the load off them.... We spoke about how we want to play: Get up the floor, kick the ball ahead and run. Look at the wings that we have, Coby, Zach, these guys getting out in transition, it's going to make this team scary."

  While Giddey tried to make the most of his situation with the Thunder, he preferred a trade over the idea of coming off the bench.

  "There were no hard feelings to them, but it's like, as a player, you want to be able to maximize yourself," Giddey said. "I just thought it wasn't going to be able to happen there. That's more of a compliment to them. They had so many good players, and it was hard for me to find a role in that team where I could be me.

  "I'm a point guard. That's kind of what I've been my whole life."

  Giddey sees the Bulls as a team that can help unlock his potential.

  "This is somewhere I wanted to be," Giddey said. "I'm very grateful that [Sam Presti's] the person he is and got me to a great spot."

• Zach LaVine Suffers Sprained Left Shoulder, Questionable For Friday

  Zach LaVine was diagnosed with a sprained AC joint and a partial dislocation of his left shoulder on Thursday.

  LaVine is questionable for the Bulls' matchup against the Nets on Friday night.

  LaVine suffered the injury on Wednesday night against the Magic.

  Jalen Smith is also listed as questionable with left knee soreness.

• Lonzo Ball Diagnosed With Grade 1-2 Wrist Sprain

  Lonzo Ball has a right wrist sprain between Grade 1 and Grade 2, an MRI revealed on Wednesday.

  Ball will miss at least the next ten days.

  "If I play on it right now while it's still swollen, it could get to a Grade 3. That would require surgery," said Ball about the injury.

  Ball has appeared in three games this season, averaging 4.7 points and 3.7 assists.

• Lonzo Ball Out At Least 10 Days With Sprained Right Wrist

  Lonzo Ball will be out at least 10 days with a sprained right wrist. Ball played through the injury in Monday's win by the Chicago Bulls at the Memphis Grizzlies. The Bulls want to see how Ball's wrist responds with the extended rest.

  Ball returned to game action this season after being out nearly three years.

  Ball averaged 4.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 15.7 minutes in his first three games this season.

• Josh Giddey Has Nothing Bad To Say About The Thunder

  Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey understood he'd get asked about the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he geared up to play his former team. Giddey also offered nothing but praise for the Thunder organization.

  "When you play your former team, you obviously circle it on your calendar. But you'll never, ever hear me say a bad word about that organization. Top to bottom, unbelievable people. I'm looking forward to seeing them all. I love that organization," Giddey said.

  Oklahoma City center Chet Holmgren said he and the rest of the Thunder were looking forward to seeing their former teammate.

  "I think you can get wrapped up in the business of what this is," Holmgren said, "because it is a business, and it's an extremely serious business. But you can't lose sight of the relationships that you build with guys you know along the way. I don't think anybody's ever played with the same 15, 17 people their entire career. That's how the league works. People and teams have to do what's best for them business wise. And you can't hold that against anybody. When you get to go out there and hoop against guys that you know and you really like, you enjoy it all the same."

• Josh Giddey, Bulls Never Had Any 'Meaningful Negotiations' On Extension

  Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls were unable to agree to terms on a contract extension and he'll enter his first season with the franchise on an expiring contract. The Bulls gave up a significant trade piece in Alex Caruso to acquire Giddey.

  "There was never really any meaningful negotiations there," said Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective Podcast. "Which was a surprise to me. I thought the Bulls were going to be under some amount of pressure to get him done because they had traded Alex Caruso for him."

  Giddey will be Chicago's starting point guard with starters on that position averaging approximately $30 million per season. Immanuel Quickley signed with the Toronto Raptors on a five-year, $175 million deal while Jalen Suggs signed for $150 million over five years.

  "They never got anywhere close from what I'm told," added Windhorst about the Giddey negotiations. "That's certainly something to watch as this season plays out."

  Giddey will be a restricted free agent during the 2025 offseason and is represented by agents Daniel Moldovan and Alex Saratsis.

• Talen Horton-Tucker Makes Bulls Opening Night Roster

  Talent Horton-Tucker has made the Chicago Bulls opening night roster. The Bulls had signed Horton-Tucker to an Exhibit 10 contract earlier this offseason. His deal will now convert to a standard non-guaranteed contract.

  In 51 games with the Utah Jazz last season, Horton-Tucker averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 assists per game.