COVID-19 continues to be a problem across the NBA and the Chicago Bulls are the latest team to get hit hard by an organizational outbreak.
Back in November, All-Star Nikola Vucevic was the first player on the Bulls to enter the league’s Health and Safety protocols and now Chicago may not even have enough players to field a team!
Coby White has been out since December 1 after testing positive for the virus, Javonte Green since December 2, and since then, they have been joined by DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Jones Jr., Matt Thomas, Ayo Dosunmu, Stanley Johnson, Troy Brown Jr. and now both Zach LaVine and Alize Johnson.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Coby White has returned to the Bulls’ practice facility, but his status moving forward is still uncertain given that he has not played in nearly two weeks.
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With 10 players in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols now, not only will the Bulls be looking for answers on the floor, but now the NBA is taking action by cancelling their next two games against the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors.
Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Tony Bradley, Marko Simonovic, Tyler Cook (two-way) and Devon Dotson (two-way) are the only main roster players left for Chicago, but they did recently sign Alfonzo McKinnie and could look to add some other players to their roster via a 10-day contract.
According to league rules, a team needs to have at least 8 eligible players in order to play in a game, which the Bulls have exactly right now, the last thing the NBA wants at this point is a league-wide outbreak. The NBA has recently said that 97% of their players are vaccinated against COVID-19 and 60% of the league has received a booster shot, but this has not stopped the virus from spreading from team to team.
A total of 23 players are currently in the league’s Health and Safety Protocols and this involves 11 different franchises. Cancelling games is the last resort for commissioner Adam Silver and the league, but they are confident that they can contain these widespread outbreaks and still continue to move forward with the season. As of right now, the next two games for Chicago are not cancelled, but will be made up at a later date.
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As for the Bulls, they are definitely pressed up against a wall and will have to try to find ways to be successful on the floor with their limited roster, that is assuming that they will be allowed to play this upcoming weekend. Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso will be the focal points with LaVine, DeRozan and others out, but there are a handful of free agents that the Bulls could look to bring in on 10-day “replacement” contracts.
Isaiah Thomas, LiAngelo Ball, Sekou Doumbouya, Kris Dunn and Harry Giles are just a few notable names that Chicago could consider, but ultimately, they may just move forward with what they have and continue to add to their roster as guys get out of the league’s protocols.
Coby White will likely re-join the roster at some point this week and Javonte Green has a chance to clear protocols as well, but guys like Daniel Oturu and Ethan Thompson on the Windy City Bulls, the Chicago Bulls’ G-League affiliate, could be players Chicago looks to give 10-day contracts to in order to round out their roster this week.
Currently 17-10 in the Eastern Conference and holding onto the 3-seed at the moment, the Bulls have been one of the surprising stories of the 2021-22 NBA season. They look like a real contending threat when at full-strength, but with all of the players they are missing, this team is really going to be tested.
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The Chicago Bulls’ next chance to play will come against the Lakers on Sunday (12/19) and then followed by a game on Monday (12/20) against the Rockets.
