Forget that Lauri Markkanen’s injury has seemingly put the rest of the Bulls’ season on life support. Their planning for future seasons might have taken a hit, too.
With Markkanen joining center Wendell Carter Jr. and forwards Otto Porter Jr. and Daniel Gafford in the training room, veteran forward Thaddeus Young is now more necessity than trade chip for the undermanned front court.
How much of a necessity? In the Bulls’ 98-81 loss to the Kings on Friday night at the United Center, Young not only started in Markkanen’s spot but also played some five in both halves, scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds over almost 30 minutes.
If the Bulls (17-30) still believe there are games to be won and a playoff spot to be grabbed, trading Young for a future asset before the Feb. 6 deadline is effectively off the table.
“I’m not in the front office, but I could only imagine how tough it is,” Young said when asked what Markkanen’s injury does to the Bulls’ rebuilding strategy. “From a player’s perspective, it’s very tough for us to take these types of blows and to continue to go out there and try and play, try and win games. It’s only crazier for the front office to go figure out how the pieces move and exactly what we need going forward, what we do going forward as a franchise, especially for the future of this franchise.
“We’ve had a down year this year, but we still have enough games where we can get into a playoff spot. That’s still our ultimate goal. But we’ve still got to go out there and continue to play, try and pile up as many wins and victories as we can, and keep it moving.”
There’s another option, but it’s one the Bulls would never acknowledge outwardly. They could trade Young and a player such as Denzel Valentine, take their beatings the rest of the season and use this as another tank year to improve their chances in the draft lottery.
That option seemed to be in play against the Kings (16-29), especially during a lifeless fourth quarter in which the Bulls were outscored 23-12.
“You can’t have a 12-point fourth quarter and hang in there,” coach Jim Boylen said.
Without Markkanen around, the Kings double- and triple-teamed Zach LaVine (21 points). Expect to see more of that.
“We’ve got to find [a secondary scorer],” Boylen said. “We’ve got to maybe do it by committee. Maybe it’s a different guy every night. I don’t know. We’ll find one. We’ll figure it out.”
Gafford on the mend?
The Bulls’ hole at center was obvious against the Kings, and Boylen didn’t appear to like how Luke Kornet and Cristiano Felicio each played in that spot.
Help could be on the way, though. Gafford (right thumb) was scheduled to have his stitches taken out in the next few days, and the hope is that there will be good news in terms of his rehab.
“They’re monitoring the wound,” Boylen said. “That was a dislocation with a cut, broke through the skin. So they’re just monitoring when they can take those stitches out.”
Carter (right ankle) told the Sun-Times last week that he was ahead of his return timetable, so his hope was to be back at some point in early February.
