There’s still a strong organizational belief in Chandler Hutchison.
Despite an NBA resume that reads more like a high school senior who is abusing the skip day policy, the former first-round pick [22nd overall] from the 2018 draft continues hearing praise about how much they value his services.
All 53 games he’s been healthy enough to play in.
“He’s got positional size, athletic, he’s a multi-[ball] handler,’’ Bulls coach Jim Boylen has said on several occasions. “He’s a big piece of this rebuild.’’
Hutchison has heard his coach say it publicly, but more importantly has had discussions with Boylen privately and feels good about his current standing within the organization. All of that despite missing valuable developmental time dealing with injuries that have included a toe, a hamstring and now a right shoulder that has kept him sidelined for almost six weeks.
“Well, if they believe what’s out there and the fact that this stuff has just been a bunch of bad luck, then I wouldn’t expect anything different,’’ Hutchison said on Thursday, when discussing the backing he’s received from his bosses. “Because they had that belief in me when I came here. You deal with certain things and you hope they still have the same outlook on you based on the things that have kind of gone the way they have. It’s kind of something that I do appreciate, but to be honest the reason I’ve felt so comfortable is because we’ve had that relationship and the belief is there.
“It feels good, it definitely feels good, but I wouldn’t expect anything different.’’
The good news for Hutchison is he’s finally close to a return. Really, this time he is.
He’s practiced with the Windy City Bulls of the G-League to start the week, taken full contact on the shoulder, and then had a full practice with the big-boy roster on Wednesday.
The hope was to have him ready for the Jazz, but he’s getting one more day just to make sure.
Then it gets interesting.
Hutchison began the season as a key reserve behind Otto Porter Jr. However, a broken left foot quickly ended Porter’s stay as a starter, catapulting Hutchison into that role.
When the second-year wing went down with the shoulder on Nov. 27, Boylen and his staff had a few auditions before settling on putting Kris Dunn back in the starting lineup throughout most of December. By the way, a month of December in which the team went 7-7 and actually showed a pulse.
Boylen has been very vague in what happens when Hutchison is able to return, but has hinted that it would likely be as a reserve initially.
Then will come the wait-and-see game.
Dunn has been guarding the opposing team’s best players the last five weeks, including the likes of Jimmy Butler, Trae Young and then Donovan Mitchell on Thursday, so Hutchison would have to show a lot in that department to jump back to that first unit.
What he feels won’t be a jump for him is his conditioning.
“I’ve been conditioning the same amount, if not more, to make sure that I can be ready to just hop in,’’ Hutchison said. “From that aspect I feel like I’m in great shape, in a great position.’’
Stern memory
Like all NBA arenas on Thursday, the Bulls had a moment of silence before the tip-off to remember former NBA commissioner David Stern, who died on Wednesday.
The outpouring of affection for Stern continued throughout the day, and Boylen was just another on the long list to express his praise, crediting Stern for helping everyone associated with the league “a lot of money.’’
