Wendell Carter Jr. stacked a plate high with fried chicken and then filled a plastic cup with some French fries to boot. With a cardiovascular workout in his rearview mirror, the rookie was hungry. And the rare non-nutritional option in Saturday's postgame locker room food spread suited his fancy.
Despite wearing a soft cast and splint on his surgically repaired left thumb, Carter expertly carried his haul back to his locker, placing the cup of fries on the floor as he reached for a forgotten item in his locker.
The fries fell over. Undeterred, Carter picked up the stray fries that had fallen out of the cup, tossed them and began eating.
There's some symbolism in Carter's scarfing. His season-ending thumb surgery has temporarily knocked him down, but he's hungry for more.
"I already can't wait for this summer and next season," Carter said between bites.
With uncertainty surrounding Kris Dunn's future, Carter has joined Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine as the franchise's foundational pieces. Though he'll eventually ditch the cast for just the splint, Carter for now is limited to his cardio workouts and some lower-body weightlifting _ squats and the like.
He traveled on the three-game trip, making good on his vow to remain around the team as much as possible.
"I can still watch and learn. I'm also looking at my own film and trying to learn from that," he said. "There's a lot I can still do."
Just not on the court and not in ways that impact this season, which has been a gut punch to the Bulls' developmental plans at seemingly every turn.
Markkanen suffered a serious right elbow injury on the third day of training camp, forcing him to miss the first 23 games. It took him longer to find his rhythm and game conditioning, though his 30-point effort Saturday, including a career-best 13-for-13 performance from the line, is another encouraging sign.
Dunn, LaVine, Bobby Portis and Chandler Hutchison all missed significant time.
And then, on a seemingly innocuous fall after tripping over Tyson Chandler on Jan. 15, Carter's promising rookie season ended. Until then, he had been the only Bull to play in all 44 games.
"It's disappointing because I feel I would've had a strong finish to the season," Carter said. "Right before I got hurt, I really felt I was starting to understand the game a bit more."
Carter will end up missing 38 games and finish with averages of 10.3 points, 7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 48.5 percent shooting in 25.2 minutes per game. He said this will be the longest he has sat out to injury since fracturing a foot in sixth grade.
Carter's season featured seven double-doubles and one 28-point game.
"I love the fact that he had a few games where maybe he had a poor quarter and then he had a good quarter," coach Jim Boylen said. "I like guys that can work themselves out of maybe a bad start or a poor moment. I think he grew that way.
"He improved his shooting. He improved his ability to play in the pocket. I've always said he embraces collision and contact. And he developed as a defender, whether it was in a switch scheme, a show scheme, a drop scheme. Whatever scheme you put him in, he was able to adapt and adjust because he has a high IQ, especially for the defensive end."
The next time Carter plays, he'll no longer be a teenager. He turns 20 in April.
He said two of his strongest memories from his rookie season are taking the floor for the regular-season opener at Philadelphia and scoring his first points. Those came on a 16-foot jumper off a pass from LaVine.
Carter can't wait to reprise that next season.
