Loud finish for Bulls, but quiet behind the scenes as deadline nears

There have been all kinds of rumors coming out of Portland as the trade deadline approaches.

Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic and Larry Nance Jr. are all reportedly on the block.

Same landscape with Indiana, as the Pacers were looking to try and move the likes of Myles Turner, Caris LeVert and Domantas Sabonis in hopes of shaking up the roster come Feb. 10.

As for all those hot Bulls rumors?

Crickets.

Just like executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas liked it.

What has remained constant since Karnisovas was handed the keys to the entire operation is he chooses to operate in the dark.

According to several basketball executives over the last week, the Bulls remain one of the toughest organizations in the Association to get a read on just because Karnisovas plays things very close to the vest and very little seems to leak out.

Before watching his team beat the Magic 126-115 Tuesday night to remain atop the Eastern Conference, Billy Donovan was asked about that mentality from the organization, admitting that while there are no edicts handed down from the suits about being cognizant of keeping quiet about talks, it is a front office that likes to keep a lot in house.

“I think it’s probably the way Arturas conducts his business,” the coach said. “In this league it’s such a tight-knit league, and there’s only 30 teams, everyone knows each other, so I would assume from a front office perspective they are probably having conversations that they want to stay in between the walls. I don’t think that’s necessarily any different from any other organization. But I think it speaks to the fact that at least the guys that I dealt with in the front office from [general manager] Marc Eversley, [VP of player personnel] Pat Connelly, [assistant GM] J.J. Polk, I mean there’s great guys … and they have a certain way I’m sure they want to go about doing [their business].”

It’s no secret the Bulls (32-18) have been in search of a defensive-minded four to fill the vacancy left by the Patrick Williams injury.

It’s remained Javonte Green – all 6-foot-5 of him with shoes on.

That’s not going to cut it against the likes of a Joel Embiid or Bam Adebayo come the postseason, when Nikola Vucevic is going to need some help.

That was on display against the Magic, as big man Wendell Carter Jr. went on the attack against his former team right from the tip, going 5-for-6 for 11 points in that first quarter, finishing with 24.

Thankfully for the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan and his ability to finish games were on the court.

Up two with just 2:54 left, DeRozan hit the 19-footer, and after a Magic miss found an open Ayo Dosunmu for the 17-footer. Dosunmu wasn’t done, then hitting a three, putting the Bulls up nine just like that, and avenging a loss to Orlando last month.

“I just think it comes from a mentality,” Dosunmu said of his big shots in the win. “It’s something that was always instilled in me.”

The Sun-Times reported last week that there was growing momentum throughout the organization that Williams could be back before the end of the regular season, but that’s a leap of faith the team shouldn’t be counting on.

A guy like Nance would be ideal, simply because he doesn’t demand a lot on the offensive end and brings an edge to the defense. If guard CJ McCollum is moved that could open the door for Portland being interested in a package for Coby White, but the dominos would have to fall perfectly for that to happen.

Considering the current injuries in the backcourt, however, the Bulls might feel like White has to be a keeper, despite a pay day possibly due to him this offseason.

Time will tell, because the Bulls sure won’t.

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