The Chicago Bulls are doing their best to disabuse Arturas Karnisovas of the notion that he has a roster worth improving this season, in real time. Last night, Chicago built up a 14-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter over the lowly Indiana Pacers.
But no lead is safe if you’re the Bulls, whose awful defense allowed Indiana to close out on a 26-9 run in the final 7:13 of regulation and steal a 113-110 victory in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It marked Chicago’s second straight defeat.
The final 2:35 of the action were such a topsy-turvy doozy that the NBA opted to memorialize it all. You’ll notice Nikola Vucevic and Josh Giddey committed some especially egregious errors.
Let’s talk Chicago hoops.
Billy Donovan‘s rotational substitution patterns rightfully came under fire on Bulls Twitter, as he weirdly swapped in Josh Giddey for Jalen Smith late in the game — only for only to see Giddey botch an inbounds pass and put the final nail in the coffin for Chicago as time expired. He also subbed out key reserve Ayo Dosunmu and Smith, in the midst of great second halves, down the stretch for a critical window. Donovan appeared to essentially confirm that Bulls reserve center Zach Collins will be on the shelf through the All-Star break, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. Donovan told reporters that the 6-foot-9 Gonzaga product remains in a walking boot to stabilize a “significant” big toe sprain, and will be reassessed two weeks from now — i.e. just in time for All-Star weekend. No matter the result Wednesday, a confident Coby White is convinced Chicago doesn’t need to add more pieces at the trade deadline, per The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. This could also be just tactical diplomacy on his part, as the Bulls have two very obvious needs (wing defensive depth and reliable frontcourt help).“You ain’t never going to get me to say, nah,” White said. “Obviously we’ve proved it, we’ve beaten really good teams this year. We’ve just got to continue to figure it out, make that push. We’re still in the hunt. I think we’re like two or three games out of sixth, so we’re still in the hunt. We’ve just got to keep competing. Like I’ve said I love being here, I love playing with these guys. We go out there every night and lay it on the line and sometimes things don’t go your way and sometimes they do.”
Armed with seven expiring contracts and plenty of draft picks, the Bulls are working the phones ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Scotto confirms that the Minnesota Timberwolves are indeed interested in trading for White or Dosunmu. Surprisingly, Scotto thinks that all of Chicago’s expiring contracts — yes, even Jevon Carter and Dalen Terry — could be on the move. © Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reports that White is more likely to be traded at the deadline this year than Chicago native Dosunmu — who should be cheaper to retain when both hit unrestricted free agency this summer. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints concurs, noting that the Bulls seem likelier to hold onto Dosunmu and even extend him before he reaches free agency. Scotto notes that, should Dosunmu hit free agency, league front office executives have projected that the 6-foot-4 Chicago native will earn something in the range of a full mid-level exception (nearly double his current $7.5 million expiring contract) or even more when he hits free agency. How Karnisovas even wants to approach the trade deadline remains an open question. He seems to have the attention span of a goldfish, as a completely meaningless win over a Los Angeles Clippers club missing Kawhi Leonard last week may have prompted him to consider mortgaging future picks to improve the doomed present team, per Zach Kram of ESPN. Karnisovas, months ahead of his presumed firing after he leads the Bulls to their fourth straight play-in exit and lottery appearance, chatted with Johnson for a career retrospective. One highlight was when talk turned to his run with the bronze medal-winning Lithuanian U.S men’s basketball team in 1992.From college basketball trailblazer to Chicago Bulls Executive VP@KCJHoop sat down with Artūras Karnišovas to dive into his global basketball journey ?? t.co/Q2T0nYacvz pic.twitter.com/C5fwrebyJG
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) January 28, 2026“I absolutely loved it,” Karnisovas said. “And obviously, to get a bronze medal for the first time for your country, that was a great experience.”
In the latest episode of his eponymous podcast, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons pitched a bold Bulls trade target to ESPN commentator Tim Legler: Ja Morant. The embattled two-time All-Star Memphis Grizzlies point guard, whose game is a bit like that of a below-the-basket Derrick Rose (the former MVP was actually a deep-bench backup for Morant during his final pro season), has at times been linked to Chicago. How he would fit next to Josh Giddey is an open question — or would the younger Giddey’s $25 million annual salary be included in the offing?“They have expirings they could put together, maybe they can put Coby White in it,” Simmons said. “But their style of play I actually think would be pretty fun for them. It’s basically balls to the wall, they’re going up and down. The ball’s constantly moving.”
Legler instantly jumped on the proposal.“I really like that one, because again there are limitations on their roster that are not going to change. You know what I mean?” Legler said. “So that team has a finite ceiling [as currently comprised].”
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