Billy Donovan was expecting more on Monday.
The entire Bulls organization was.
Facing the Western Conference’s first 30-win team, Donovan was counting on the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., and Coby White to take advantage of that stage and show the growing pains are behind them. Or at least subsiding.
Markkanen was benched for a period of time, finishing 3-for-12 with eight points in the loss. Carter scored six points and was a minus-15 in plus/minus. White went 4-for-12, scoring 10 points, but was a minus-23.
“These are the kinds of games, in my opinion, that Wendell and Lauri and Coby need to play in — high-level teams,’’ Donovan said of the performance of the three. “Hopefully they can continue to learn and grow and get better in those situations.’’
Maybe they will.
Just very unlikely before Thursday’s trade deadline comes and goes.
There’s the rub for this Bulls roster. Zach LaVine now has All-Star on his resume, putting up career numbers across the board, and on far too many nights is a solo act in search of consistent No. 2 scoring option.
In a perfect world it would have been Markkanen. On some nights it is. Just not the nights it matters most. Against the last three playoff-caliber teams — San Antonio, Denver and Utah — Markkanen is a combined 11-for-33 (33%), averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
That’s why he’s losing minutes in crunch time, and that’s why a source said there’s growing trade interest in the 7-footer, with the Bulls waiting for the best offer before making a decision on his future.
“I don’t think I deserved to be out there down the stretch,” Markkanen said of the benching late in the Denver game. “I trust Billy 100 percent. He doesn’t need to explain anything to me personally. If it comes up, we can talk about it. [Against Utah] he was trying to find a new lineup that worked. I’m not questioning him at all.’’
There’s the No. 2 option, leaving Donovan admittedly going point guard-by-committee, but now second scoring option-by committee.
A lot of committees for a 19-23 team, fighting to stay in a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, and possibly making the Bulls players before the deadline winds down.
They have assets to move — Thad Young, Tomas Satoransky, Otto Porter’s expiring contract, or even one of the younger pieces in Markkanen or Carter — but they also have to make sure it’s the right move for a team caught somewhere between rebuilding and retooling.
Young might be the most attractive piece to move, especially for a first-round draft asset, but the likelihood of it being a lottery pick is small considering the contenders that would covet the veteran’s services.
Young knows his name has been out there, but is kind of over it all.
“The biggest thing for me is, as long as I’m here, I’m here to do a job and that’s my focus, is to do the job that I’m here to do, which is help these young guys and continue to play as hard as I can each and every night and help try to continue to win,’’ Young said. “So, haven’t really worried too much about the trade situation or haven’t discussed it, not talked about it. Nor do I really even like care to talk about it. If it happens, it happens, I understand it’s a part of the business, and I understand how the business works. So whatever happens, happens and I try to just control what I can control at all times.’’
