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Bulls Rumors: Derrick Jones Jr. Out 4-6 Weeks; Knee Injury Diagnosed as Bone Bruise
January 13, 2022
Chicago Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a bone bruise in his right knee, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Jones started Wednesday's 138-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets but was forced to exit after 36 seconds.
Charania reported the 24-year-old avoided any structural damage to his knee, so the injury isn't the worst-case scenario. Still, him missing more than a month of action will be a tough blow for the Bulls.
Jones is averaging 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in his first season with Chicago. He has also been an efficient scorer, shooting 58.2 percent from the field and 40.5 percent on three-pointers.
The 2020 Slam Dunk Contest champion is making his biggest impact on the defensive end of the floor. According to NBA.com, he's holding opponents to 49 percent shooting inside the three-point arc, 6.1 points lower than their overall field-goal percentage on those shots.
The Bulls find themselves first in the Eastern Conference at 27-12. A deep run in the playoffs, potentially all the way to the NBA Finals, is plausible.
That has led many to wonder whether Chicago will look to make a big move ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline.
The Athletic's James L. Edwards III reported the Detroit Pistons have gotten interest in Jerami Grant from "teams with championship aspirations." Edwards added that Detroit thought highly of 6'7" forward Patrick Williams heading into the 2020 draft, so the No. 4 overall pick could help the Bulls land Grant if they wanted to pursue that avenue.
Prior to Jones' injury, targeting a wing or another power forward was the most sensible way for general manager Marc Eversley to make a meaningful upgrade to the roster. The area of need depends on whether Chicago wants to continue with DeMar DeRozan primarily at the 4.
Losing Jones for some time could give the front office more impetus to pull the trigger on a trade.