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The frenzy of the NBA trade deadline came and went passing the Chicago Bulls (26-29) by. But their window of opportunity to make good on Arturas Karnisovas’ promise to “look at everything” to improve this team is still open.
“If he gets out into the buyout market, listen, there is significant interest in [Russell] Westbrook,” reported ESPN’ NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski during a segment on ‘NBA Today’ on February 10. “I think one team that you’ve got to watch – and I think will be a front-runner – the Chicago Bulls…And, certainly, you can see how he fits, just bringing some energy and some fire to that team’s bench.”
Westbrook’s tenure in Los Angeles notably ended after an altercation with Lakers head coach Darvin Ham during halftime of a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7.
“Halftime of Westbrook’s Lakers finale was an emblematic ending to his time with the franchise,” writes Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Ham went, well, HAM on the entire team because of its porous defensive effort in the first half…But when Ham turned his attention to Westbrook and his specific individual struggles, sources say the future Hall of Famer appeared to take it personally. As had been the case so many times before, when the coaching staff struggled with Westbrook’s unwillingness to be held accountable for his play, Westbrook wasn’t hearing it.”
Westbrook, 34, finished with 27 points, eight assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one block while getting to close out the game. The nine-time All-NBA selection is averaging 17.6 points on 51.2% true shooting over his last 24 games seeing nearly 30 minutes per contest. That’s up from 14.5 points on 48% true shooting over his first 28 appearances this season.
The first-year head coach was complimentary of Westbrook noting his “unbelievable sacrifice”.
Ham got Westbrook to buy into coming off of the bench for the first time since his rookie season and accepting the fewest minutes of his illustrious career.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham reflects on Russell Westbrook’s ups and downs with the team
Still, Amick and Buha describe the situation overall as “toxic”. That might not be an issue, according to Wojnarowski.
“Billy Donovan, their head coach, certainly coached Westbrook in Oklahoma City. And go down his bench – [Assistant coaches Maurice] Cheeks, Josh Longstaff – there’s a staff of former OKC assistants who all had good relationships and worked well with Westbrook with the Bulls.”
Donovan has come under scrutiny as his team has battled the same issues since the latter stages of last season, most of which are related to their effort which has been low to start games. But Donovan has always praised Westbrook for that very reason citing the 2017 MVP’s energy as something he never had to question.
He won’t solve their lack of three-point shooting and, at 32.1% from deep even in this 24-game stretch, could further complicate matters for DeMar DeRozan (32.1% 3P this season).
But he could be the answer to the Bulls’ head coach’s biggest gripe.
Russell Westbrook Could Solve Some of the Bulls’ Issues
But the Bulls’ head coach questions his current team’s effort on a seemingly nightly basis, the latest coming after a 104-86 loss to the whittled-down Brooklyn Nets.
“Billy Donovan last night said he knows he sounds “like a broken record” when talking about playing with lack of urgency and not meeting a standard of play,” tweeted NBC Sports Chicago Bulls insider K.C. Johnson. “The lack of urgency alone would be a reason the Bulls would be interested in Russell Westbrook if he hits buyout market.”
Great stuff from Billy Donovan!
Players think they get taken out because they missed a shot or turn it over.
More often than not, players get taken out when that missed shot or turn over leads to:
•bad energy
•not sprinting back
•rotating incorrectly defensively
As imminent as Westbrook’s buyout may seem given Utah’s current roster construction, it is still not a given.
“Westbrook may not fit into their plans for the rest of this season,” said Wojnarowski. “But would it be a contract buyout? Would he just not play for the Jazz this season? Or, is there some scenario where he could play which I think is probably the least likely of them.”
To that end, the Jazz are also amicable to a few different options on how to proceed.
“Justin Zanik says the Jazz have met with Russell Westbrook and his representation. The Jazz are currently open to every possibility,” tweeted Tony Jones, also of The Athletic. “Westbrook has expressed a willingness to play for the Jazz. The two sides are still working through it. No decisions have been made”
Bulls Need Something to Sell
Karnisovas conducted his first press conference in just over four months. His explanation for the Bulls’ striking inactivity did not go over well.
“We were pretty active at the trade deadline, it just didn’t seem there were deals to make to improve this group,” said Karnisovas in his first official press conference since the Bulls’ media day on September 26. “And, at the end of the day, we decided to go with this group for the next 28 games.”
During an appearance on ‘Mully & Haugh’ on 670 The Score on February 10, Karnisovas said doubled down on the Bulls’ talent while pointing to several narrow defeats this season.
.@dan_bernstein is fired up after listening to Arturas Karnisovas’ latest comments about the #Bulls.
“If you’re going to hang a banner for close losses, that’s insulting,” Bernstein says.
Listen to segment here: t.co/Yghwf3PH3M
The Bulls are 2-5 in one-score games this season after going 4-4 in such games in 2022.
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