Jim Boylen has made it a habit to stay away from committing to specific minutes for his players.
At times it’s been because of injuries and minutes restrictions, sometimes because of poor practice habits. Lately, however, it’s been about familiarity.
Come this Friday in Brooklyn, that might really be tested.
With the trade deadline ticking down at 2 p.m. on Thursday, the Bulls coach has no idea what he’ll have left of his roster or even if the roster will change.
All Tuesday was for Boylen was another practice, and another day of dress rehearsals with just over two months left in the season.
When they acquired Wayne Selden from Memphis last month in the Justin Holiday trade, Selden slowly played his way into being a key member of the rotation, and lately getting some starts. Does Selden have staying power for next season?
Boylen has said he hopes so, but is also staying in his lane and letting the front office weigh those options. Selden will be a free agent after making $1.54 million this season, and cap space will not be an issue for the rebuilding Bulls at all.
Not the only player Boylen has been trying to get acclimated to his system, either.
The Bulls acquired Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Thunder over the weekend, and Boylen has been force-feeding the newest acquisition as much as possible, starting with the Monday practice.
“He’s a big wing, all of 6-6,’’ Boylen said. “He fits in very well. He picked up our stuff quickly. We’re pretty simple right now. That’s a benefit of our system being kind of a small package and simple. He picked up our defensive terminology and what we’re trying to do.
“He played like he’d been here awhile, which is a credit to him.’’
Exactly what Luwawu-Cabarrot was hoping to accomplish.
“It’s a fresh start, it’s a young team,’’ Luwawu-Cabarrot. “I see that as a rebuild and a fresh start for me and I’m looking forward to play with this team.’’
While it’s unlikely that Luwawu-Cabarrot will be ready for Wednesday’s against New Orleans at the United Center, a back-to-back starting Friday might earn him some minutes. Especially, if the Bulls lighten the load by the deadline.
The Sun-Times confirmed a Monday report that the Bulls have been in contact with the Lakers about a Jabari Parker for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope deal, but Caldwell-Pope has no-trade rights and wasn’t sold on leaving L.A.
According to a source, there have been a handful of calls about Parker in the last week, and momentum is building a bit on him being sent elsewhere.
Then there’s Robin Lopez, who could be a serious buyout candidate if the Bulls can’t find a landing spot for him. Either way, Lopez thinks he can bring a lot to another team.
“If you know what you’re doing on the floor, if you’ve worked on honing your craft in certain areas, and you’ve put in that work on the floor, more often than not the league will reward you,’’ Lopez said. “I don’t really think the league passes you by if you have those attributes.’’
All Boylen could offer up on Tuesday was a relatively quiet climate with the clock ticking.
“I don’t have a feel either way,’’ Boylen said. “[The front office’s] job this time is to man the phones and see what’s out there. I’ve not heard anything either way from them. The buzz I’m getting just from around the league is it’s kind of quiet, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. As soon as they need me or call me, I’ll be ready to give my suggestion. But not much, not much going on right now.’’
