(670 The Score) The Bulls gathered for media day Monday, a day before they’ll hold their first practice of the new season. While guard Zach LaVine’s trade saga is the main storyline hovering over the organization as camp opens, there was much more to parse through as well.
Here’s what we learned from the Bulls at the Advocate Center.
--- The Bulls shared a number of injury updates.
Point guard Lonzo Ball, who hasn’t played in an NBA game since January 2022 due to a series of devastating knee injuries, will be brought along “slowly” in training camp, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said. The Bulls still aren’t sure how heavy of a workload he can carry in a training camp setting on a day-to-day basis. Ball has been playing five-on-five.
For his part, Ball expressed hope – not certainty – that he’ll be ready for the regular-season opener on Oct. 23. If he’s healthy enough to play, Ball will be on a minutes restriction and won’t play back-to-backs, he said.
--- Recently acquired lead guard Josh Giddey’s ankle injury that he suffered at the end of Australia’s loss to Serbia in the Olympic quarterfinals in early August was worse than it originally appeared. Giddey revealed Monday that he ruptured his anterior talofibular ligament and has been recovering since.
Giddey and the team have agreed to have a conservative approach to start camp. If there was a playoff game on the schedule Tuesday, Giddey said he’d play.
“I’m right there on the doorstep of playing again,” Giddey said while sharing he expects to be fully ready for the season opener.
--- Forward Patrick Williams "is ready to go" but will progress slowly in training camp as he continues the final stages of working back from left foot surgery, Karnisovas said.
Williams will be in drills, take contact and play five-on-five when camp opens, and the Bulls plan to see how he responds from there, Karnisovas said.
--- Karnisovas stressed that the youth-infused Bulls’ goal is still to win this season as they come off a 39-43 campaign that was followed by the departures of offensive ace DeMar DeRozan and defensive leader Alex Caruso. As part of his comments, Karnisovas indicated the Bulls won’t pull any funny business.
“We’re here to win,” Karnisovas said. “Developing our players is crucial, but we won’t sacrifice the integrity of the game just for the sake of development.”
The Bulls owe the Spurs a first-round pick in a strong 2025 NBA Draft, but it’s top-10 protected, meaning they’ll have a fair chance of retaining it.
“This is not our focus,” Karnisovas said of the draft pick. “The focus going into the season is to basically define our style of play and to find our identity. What is our identity with this group?”
When pressed about how winning and player development can be dual goals, Karnisovas responded that he views them as being intertwined.
“Development is not just learning how to dribble the ball, shoot and all this stuff,” Karnisovas said. “Part of it is adversity and also to teach those guys what goes into winning.”
--- Beyond LaVine’s trade saga, the most fascinating subplot for the Bulls may be who they start as they have a glut of guard depth. Coach Billy Donovan stressed that it’s too early to know the full starting lineup because he hasn’t seen Giddey on the floor with his new teammates, but Donovan also added he won’t be afraid to use LaVine, Giddey and Coby White together. As part of that response, he cited his tenure in Oklahoma City, where he often used three guards together in Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder in the 2019-’20 season.
“It could be very effective provided those guys all understand what that entails,” Donovan said.
Donovan expanded on the topic.
“They’re all going to have to sacrifice,” Donovan said. “We can’t have one guy with the ball in their hands all the time. We’ve got to play in a way that showcases and plays to the strengths of all those guys.”
--- If the Bulls don’t want to start Giddey, LaVine and White together, White doesn’t have a problem with being the sixth man, even if that sounds absurd given that he’s coming off a breakout campaign.
“I’m down for whatever the team needs,” White said.
“I’ll always do what’s best for the team.”
White averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 assists last season, when he started 78 of the 79 games he played. He finished second in the Most Improved Player voting.
For what it’s worth, Karnisovas was asked if the organization has had any wide-ranging discussions about bringing LaVine off the bench. He didn’t shut the door on the idea, saying there was much to learn about roles and rotation in training camp and that bigger conversations would be had from there.
--- Donovan didn’t shy away from what the Bulls’ main weakness projects to be.
“We’re going to have defensive challenges, there’s no question,” Donovan said. “We’re going to have to really be a team that’s collectively going to do it together.”
The Bulls ranked 21st in defensive efficiency in 2023-’24.
--- New assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr., who lost his job as the Wizards’ head coach in January, will be the Bulls’ defensive coordinator, center Nikola Vucevic said.
“Great guy, a wealth of experience,” Donovan said.
Donovan also spoke highly of fellow new assistant Dan Craig, who most recently worked for the Clippers.
“Fresh new voices, fresh new ideas, it’s been wonderful working with those two guys throughout the summer and moving into training camp,” Donovan said.
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.