NEW YORK – The players that were shipped out in last week’s Bulls trade deadline purge weren’t the only ones affected by the locker room changing almost overnight.
Coach Billy Donovan admitted being “a little sensitive” to the emotions second-year forward Matas Buzelis was going through, losing a handful of vets that all but helped raise him his first year-plus in the Association.
“Because it’s the first time he’s gone through it,” Donovan said of Buzelis. “I talked to him (over the weekend) about that, and I think he was still digesting that quite honestly. Last year after the trade deadline, you had the All-Star Break, the rest of that year, the whole summer, where you are with these guys. I think he got a taste of this is a business. I still think he’s processing those guys that he probably looked at as helpful to him as a rookie and being helpful to him in his second year.
“As much as he understands the business side of it, I still think it’s a little bit different for him. I think that speaks to the relationship he had with all those guys.”
Buzelis was asked about it and did his best to downplay his emotions.
“Honestly for me, it’s tough after first hearing it, but I’m a guy that lives in the present, and unfortunately that happened to our team,” Buzelis said. “I wish all the best for those guys that moved forward and that’s just what it is. You have to focus on the next day. Fortunately, I’ve had to wipe it out of my memory and that’s just how I was trained when I was younger.”
The Bulls were one of the busiest teams in the NBA the week of the deadline, waiving Jevon Carter and trading out Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry.
Even Donovan admitted to being caught up in the emotion of it all once the smoke settled.
“First guy I see when I walk in (the locker room) is Vooch,” Donovan added, “and he’s not there.”
Spring Break
The Bulls were still without Zach Collins (toe), Josh Giddey and Tre Jones (both left hamstrings) and Jalen Smith (right calf).
There’s a good chance, however, that Giddey and Jones might be back after the All-Star Break. According to Donovan, both guards have been playing three-on-three and running in full. The Bulls are being extra cautious with both players, made easier by the fact that there are a bunch of new guards that also need minutes as part of the evaluation process.
The news wasn’t as good for the Bulls bigs. Collins did get some work in on the anti-gravity treadmill, but is still in a walking boot, while Smith is still dealing with tightness in his calf.
Longer runway
While Donovan is no stranger to a tough-love coaching approach with Buzelis, he seems to have a more hands-off approach to how he wants to deal with newly acquired second-year guard Rob Dillinham.
Whether it’s just the evaluation process he wants to go through with Dillingham or figuring out how the former No. 8 overall pick is wired, Donovan is allowing him to play through mistakes.
“It’s really about making it a gritty game and if you mess up, you mess up but just play fast,” Dillingham said of the message he’s been given by Donovan. “That’s what Coach wants, and he reassured me of that for sure.”