It would likely be a conversation Billy Donovan would remember.
After all, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name does ring a bell in most NBA circles.
“That situation with Giannis has never been communicated to me one way or the other,” the Bulls coach insisted on Friday.
The “situation” he was referring to was the latest Bulls rumor to come out of the smoke of the Anthony Davis ashes, and that was Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo reportedly gauging the interest of the Bulls as a possible trade destination only to be told by the organization they were focused on sticking to the current build out.
First of all, Donovan tried to be 100% transparent that he has had no recent conversations with executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas or general manager Marc Eversley on Antetokounmpo.
The coach talks to the front office almost daily, and that’s not something that would be kept from him.
Secondly, and more importantly, there are way better situations for Antetokounmpo to go to and way better deals for the Bucks to make than what the Bulls would be able to offer.
With the 120-105 loss to Indiana on Friday, the Bulls (9-13) have now dropped six straight, falling to the likes of New Orleans, Charlotte, Brooklyn and the Pacers twice. Antetokounmpo is reportedly looking to go somewhere to win, not become a passenger on a sinking ship with a captain that can’t read a map or avoid icebergs.
While Karnisovas has always maintained that the organization would be open to jumping at an opportunity – the Sun-Times reported last season that the Bulls were disappointed they didn’t hear from Dallas before they traded Luka Doncic – the executive is also not interested in “skipping steps” in this current reload.
Especially when the organization still isn’t sure what they have exactly with all the injuries this season. Flawed thinking? Of course it is, but that’s the life and times of Karnisovas.
What Donovan could speak on was Antetokounmpo’s name has not come up.
“I’ll just say this like I have already told you guys, I think they’ve always been – and I say Arturas and Marc when I say they – when stuff has presented itself that is real, they come to me,” Donovan said. “I would say that they’re not having conversations with me on their daily conversations each and every day, so I don’t really have any conversations about that. Generally, if there was something that was real, potentially could happen that’s on the table, something that’s in the works or a possibility, they’ve always come to me and communicated with me.”
What hasn’t been communicated to Donovan? That the front office no longer believes in the group and wants to blow it up.
“I haven’t heard anything in terms of the front office, happy, mad, down in the dumps, about the group,” Donovan said. “I do think that anyone that is evaluating our team from a front office standpoint would want to see what the group looks like completely whole.”
Because what they’ve looked like pieced together with backups and G Leaguers has been a mess.
Another loss to the Pacers was just the latest example of that, as the Bulls defense had no resistance for Pascal Siakam and the 36 points he dropped on them.
“I feel like we still have a chance to go on a run,” Bulls guard Coby White said of the latest loss. “I’ve been in this league a couple years now, and lottery team or not, everybody is talented. Even though (Indiana) isn’t winning the way they want to win, they got championship DNA.
“I don’t view a team, ‘Well, just because of their record.’ Every team has the best players in the world. Everybody is talented.”
A hard lesson the Bulls keep finding out, and despite rumors, immediate help is not on the way.