It’s not a label that Wendell Carter Jr. even remotely likes.
Few athletes would.
The Bulls center doesn’t think it accurately describes him.
At the same time, he gets it. He can’t change the minds of his critics when his own NBA resume gives credence to their argument.
“I hate the label of being injury prone or always injured and things like that, so that gets kind of tough,’’ Carter said in a Zoom call. “[But] I look inside the business, the people who are a part of this business, they understand that all these injuries weren’t because I wasn’t prepared or weren’t because I wasn’t doing the necessary things to make sure my body could withstand [this season’s] 72-game season. It’s definitely tough. There’s people I want to please, just like being out there on the court and helping my team win. And I can’t really do much from the timeline, so it’s definitely tough.’’
The list of injuries for Carter since the Bulls made him the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft is lengthy. Thumb surgery, an abdomen, an ankle, and now a right quadricep contusion that will put him on the shelf for at least four weeks before being re-evaluated.
Lengthy, but according to Carter, fluky.
That’s why he’s not looking for advice from anyone, because he feels he knows a player can only control so much.
“I feel like this is more of an internal thing,’’ Carter said. “Especially with the fact of these all being unavoidable injuries. I just feel like it’s definitely a time for me to really self-reflect. I think I’ve had more than enough time to self-reflect, but now I can just focus on myself, trying to get my head space, my body back right, and just try to come back and be just as good or even better when I get back.’’
Until then? That’s a problem for the Bulls.
Yes, Carter is a flawed starting center, but he also has some strengths that this roster will miss. Even being undersized for the position on most nights, he’s as physical a presence as the Bulls have, especially in the screen game.
Even guard Zach LaVine knows his life just got tougher when it comes to trying to free himself up from opposing defenders.
“He means a lot to our team,’’ LaVine said of the injury. “He clears up a lot of stuff for us defensively. Me and him got in a pretty good rhythm on pick-and-rolls, you know, him in that little short roll and being able to get to his floater and things like that. So, you know, it sucks, we’re gonna obviously have to play without him for a little bit, and he’s gonna come back and get right back into the swing of things, but obviously he means a lot for the team so we’re gonna miss him.’’
Daniel Gafford hopes not too much.
The second-year big man is penciled in as the replacement for Carter – at least in the starting lineup – and his hope is that he can make the vacancy feel a bit less empty.
“Just mainly like my energy and whatnot,’’ Gafford said of the strengths he hopes to bring. “I’m usually coming off the bench with a lot of energy. I’m always juiced up and ready to go. Now I’ve just got to be able to come out with that energy at the beginning of the game from now on until he gets back.
“I have to be a lot better on offense and I have to be a lot better on defense with certain things, especially since I’m in the starting five because that’s the way we start off games now.’’
