All quiet on Bulls trade front, at least in coach Billy Donovan’s world

SAN FRANCISCO — Coach Billy Donovan is well-versed in answering trade-deadline questions, especially because he talks almost daily with Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas.

The latest update from Donovan on Thursday was that there wasn’t a whole lot to update with the Bulls falling to the Warriors 131-106.

“From my perspective, not really,” Donovan said of possible trade talks heating up. “Again, I think [Karnisovas is] on the phone quite a bit, but, like I always tell you guys, I don’t ask a lot of questions. I always trust he’s going to come to me on different things. I also think that it seems like around the league, and it’s just the way it is, it’s almost like everybody waits until the 12th hour for things to happen.”

That’s especially the case this season because of a huge boulder that needs to be moved.

Most teams looking to make a splash admittedly are waiting to see what happens in Miami with disgruntled Jimmy Butler.

The Bulls are no different.

There also have been scenarios floating out there that the Bulls could be a third or fourth team in a major deal involving Butler if something was to go down.

Donovan said the organization is well aware that living in the middle of the NBA means you’re on a slow boat to nowhere.

The loss to Golden State dropped the Bulls to 19-26, but they’re still lingering in play-in territory. To make matters worse in Donovan’s eyes, this was a winnable game, especially with the Bulls jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter.

As has been the case far too often this season, as good as the Bulls can look in one quarter, they can abruptly look terrible. The third quarter summed up the night for the Bulls. They were outscored 31-16 and went 0-for-9 from three-point range.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 24 points.

“No one wants to be in the middle,” Donovan said. “You want to find a way to get out of the middle and pick a direction, so to speak. I just know in the past and talking to [Karnisovas], you can have an idea of things you want to do, but you need another partner to make those things happen, right? We want to help the group get better, pick a direction, and I’m sure he’s having conversations on every aspect of how to make us get better.”

Battered and bruised

The Bulls received more details on guard Coby White’s right ankle/foot, and it wasn’t great news.

Donovan said White met with doctors in Los Angeles while the team was there and had some more imaging tests done, and they concluded he was dealing with a bone bruise.

“Those are a little bit tricky, quite honestly,” Donovan said. “Talking to the medical guys, it could end up being a week; it could be longer. But I think the feeling right now is to get him to Sunday. The Portland game was last Sunday, so that would be a whole week, and then maybe kind of reevaluate where he’s at. But it’s one of those things that we just don’t know.”

White was pulled from that loss against the Trail Blazers after he planted the foot wrong, then Donovan didn’t like the way he was moving.

The interesting part is White, like most of the Bulls’ roster, is popping up in trade rumors. The timing for a lingering injury couldn’t be worse.

Veteran blues

Forward Torrey Craig missed his 11th consecutive game with a knee issue that turned into an ankle sprain. There’s no timetable for his return. He only has played in nine games and is in the last year of his contract, making $2.8 million.

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