(670 The Score) Bulls wing Denzel Valentine hasn’t practiced in training camp yet due to what he called a “hamstring tweak.”
Valentine hopes to get on the practice floor Saturday. He acknowledged he'll be out when the Bulls host the Rockets on Friday and Sunday, but he hopes to be ready for game action the following week when Chicago plays its final two preseason games.
“I’ve been working with the medical and training staff right now,” Valentine said Wednesday. “It’s pretty much day by day.”
Valentine was injured on Nov. 16, he said. His absence from practice came as a surprise, as coach Billy Donovan had said recently that the Bulls were good to go on the health front with the exception of veteran guard Garrett Temple continuing to recover from COVID-19. On Wednesday, Donovan admitted his mind blanked in forgetting to cite the injury to Valentine, who was out of sight and apparently out of mind in not being on the court yet.
Valentine returned to the Bulls on a one-year, $4.7-million deal in free agency in November. He was happy to do so after landing in former coach Jim Boylen’s doghouse and having an inconsistent role last season, when he averaged 6.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 36 games.
“It meant a lot,” Valentine said of returning. “This is my team where I got drafted to. It’s kind of like home now. To be able to give it another try — new management, new coaches, same team with guys that I love, we’ve got great chemistry, so it’s good to be a part of the team again.”
With Valentine out and Temple not yet practicing as he has to clear the COVID-19 return-to-play protocols, the Bulls are a bit thin on the wing. They also plan to monitor small forward Otto Porter Jr.’s workload. He’s healthy but has a history of injuries, including dealing with a serious foot ailment last season.
With that in mind, Donovan cited rookie forward Patrick Williams as one of the players who may need to step up early on.
“Patrick is a guy that’s very versatile defensively, so I think his development and his growth, to your point about the wing position, is going to be important for our team,” Donovan said. “There’s a lot coming at him right now, and there’s a lot thrown at his plate and this is a unique situation as we’ve discussed about no Summer League and shortened training camp and all the protocols with the virus. But with Otto and Denzel, we’re going to have to look at some different things. But I think that’s where Patrick gives you maybe some size, strength, length, physicality at that position to hopefully help – but also to the same point too, also lacks the experience of someone like Otto or Denzel.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.