RealGM Basketball Wiretap

18 April 2024

• Alex Caruso Has 'Significant' Left Ankle Sprain, Doubtful For Friday

  Alex Caruso has a "significant" left ankle sprain, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

  Caruso is doubtful for the Bulls' play-in tournament game against the Heat on Friday.

  Caruso suffered the injury when Andre Drummond stepped on his foot during Wednesday night's win over the Hawks.

• NBA Playoffs 2024: Eastern Conference First Round Matchups

  The Eastern Conference seeds are set following the end of regular season on Sunday. The first round begins on Saturday, April 20th.

  First Round Matchups

  • No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 (Sixers, Heat, Bulls or Hawks)

  • No. 2 New York Knicks vs. No. 7 (Sixers or Heat)

  • No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers

  • No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Orlando Magic

  Play-In

  • No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 8 Miami Heat

  • No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 10 Atlanta Hawks

• Billy Donovan Hasn't Had Contact With Kentucky, Committed To Bulls

  Billy Donovan said he has not had any contact with the University of Kentucky about their head coaching vacancy and remains committed to the Chicago Bulls.

  "I have not been contacted by anybody, I haven't spoken to anybody," Donovan told reporters, adding that his answer would remain the same even if he was contacted. "My total commitment and focus is here to this team and to this group."

  John Calipari stepped down as head coach of Kentucky this week for the same job with Arkansas.

  Donovan began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Kentucky under Rick Pitino from 1989 until 1993. Donovan won back-to-back national championships at Florida. Donovan left Florida to become head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 before joining the Bulls in 2020.

  "I'm happy here at this level," Donovan said. "I know I enjoy coaching and I know I enjoy coaching in the NBA."

  The Bulls have Donovan under contract for two more years.

• Bulls To Match Up Versus Hawks For Play-In Game On April 17

  The Chicago Bulls will play the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in game between the No. 9 seed and No. 10 seed on April 17.

  The Bulls, who own a tiebreaker over the Hawks, have a magic number of three to clinch a home game.

  The winner of the matchup will face the loser of the No. 7 seed versus No. 8 seed on April 19.

• Javonte Green, Bulls Agree To Deal For Remainder Of Season

  Javonte Green and the Chicago Bulls have agreed to a contract for the remainder of the season.

  Green has played three games with the Bulls while on a 10-day deal, averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 17.0 minutes.

  Green is represented by Duncan Lloyd.

• Javonte Green, Bulls Agree To 10-Day Contract

  The Chicago Bulls and wing Javonte Green have agreed to a 10-day contract. Green has spent this season with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the G League.

  Green previously played for Chicago from 2021 through 2023. The Bulls acquired Green from the Boston Celtics in a deal at the 2021 trade deadline.

  In 10 games with Santa Cruz, Green has averaged 12.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

• 'Growing Buzz' Lonzo Ball Will Play Next Season

  There is "growing buzz" that Lonzo Ball will attempt to play for the Chicago Bulls next season, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

  Ball has not played since January 14, 2022 due to a knee injury.

  Ball has a player option for the 2024-25 season worth $21 million.

  Johnson adds that there was little interest in acquiring Ball's contract at the trade deadline.

• RealGM Radio: Jared Dubin On The Season So Far (Mar 2024)

  Host Danny Leroux talks with Jared Dubin of Last Night in Basketball about the season so far. They discuss how the playoff races are looking in both conferences, DeMar DeRozan's strong second half, the Thunder as a historical anomaly and much more.

  Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts or via the RSS feed.

• DeMar DeRozan, Luka Doncic Named NBA's Players Of Week 20

  DeMar DeRozan and Luka Doncic have been named the NBA's Players of the Week for Week 20.

  DeRozan averaged 29.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists as the Chicago Bulls went 3.1.

  Doncic averaged 37.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 10.7 assists as the Dallas Mavericks went 2-1.

• Lonzo Ball Still Unable To Sprint During Knee Rehab

  Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan isn't ready to say Lonzo Ball has suffered a setback in his rehab from a knee injury. But Donovan didn't paint a positive picture about where Ball is at either, as he shared that the Bulls guard is still unable to sprint.

  "I don't know if he's stuck," Donovan said. "He is doing some shooting, some running, some jumping. He hasn't done any sprinting yet, that I know."

  Donovan was asked if that's a setback and he stopped short of calling it that.

  "They talked about that, and [sprinting] was kind of a goal, a set point. I do think the one thing that has been a priority right now, so he does not get set back, is he needs to develop more strength in his leg," Donovan said. "Because of him having that surgery and being off his leg so long, before he's really able to ramp up, I think they want him to get to a place physically that relates to his quad strength. I don't want to say it's a holdup, but that's where they want to get him to. In terms of what he's doing, he feels better."

  Ball hasn't played in a game since January 14, 2022. The veteran point guard missed the second half of that season, and all of the 2022-23 season. Ball has been ruled out for the entirety of this season, as well. That means the next chance for Ball to play will be over two-and-a-half years from his last appearance.