The Bulls have but to indicate their hand as Russell Westbrook awaits a possible buyout of his contract by the Utah Jazz — but when he involves Chicago, the nine-time All-Star would have loads of familiarity with coach Billy Donovan.
During a section of the “#thisleague” podcast Monday, TNT’s Chris Haynes mentioned Donovan has reached out to Westbrook and urged him that “Chicago should be the place for him.”
Donovan declined to touch upon the potential addition of Westbrook earlier than Monday’s sport towards the Orlando Magic on the United Center. But he supplied excessive reward for the 34-year-old level guard, whom Donovan coached for 4 seasons in Oklahoma City.
“Being with him for four years, I always said this: It was unbelievable respect on my part,” Donovan mentioned. “Whenever there was a sport, you knew he was at all times able to play.
“He’s a great competitor and he loves competing. He plays with great energy and great passion. You go into a locker room before a game and you look at him, you’re not worried about whether or not he’s ready to play every game.”
The Bulls may use a shot within the arm. More than 3-point taking pictures or rebounding, their lagging vitality has been the principle supply of their despondent performances in current weeks.
But Donovan mentioned one acquisition on the buyout market — whether or not it’s Westbrook or another person — may not be the only real reply to the Bulls’ issues.
“I don’t know if one player can provide it or not,” Donovan mentioned. “That’s certainly a lot to ask of one player coming into a new situation.”
Bringing in Westbrook additionally would displace different guards on the roster, probably shifting Ayo Dosunmu again into the secondary rotation after he took over the place to begin guard function for the higher a part of the final yr whereas Lonzo Ball has been sidelined.
Dosunmu informed reporters Monday he’s targeted on private enchancment amid the Westbrook rumors.
“At the end of the day, I just have to come out here and try to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Dosunmu mentioned. “When I’m on the court, I try to do that. That’s always been my motto.”
With solely 25 regular-season video games left after Monday, Westbrook would have little runway to onboard with the Bulls in any significant approach earlier than the season ends. He reportedly may wait till after the All-Star break to decide, which might supply solely 23 video games to acclimate to the Bulls roster and make an affect.
Donovan famous this problem as one other issue because the Bulls weigh the buyout market over the following two weeks.
“Especially when the guy’s in a rotation, it does take some time,” Donovan mentioned. “The bigger issue is how does a guy come in and make the group better. A lot of times in order to do that, you’ve got to play with guys over a period of time to get comfortable with them because there is an adjustment period.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com