Bulls' Wendell Carter Jr. Ruled Out with Ankle Injury vs. Mavs; X-Rays Negative

Chicago Bulls big man Wendell Carter was ruled out for the remainder of Monday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks after suffering a right ankle sprain during the second half.

Carter had to be taken to the locker room after coming down awkwardly near Mavericks big man Dwight Powell. X-rays came back negative.

He had six points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.

Any setback for the youngster is going to be a concern in Chicago after he played just 44 games as a rookie last season because of a thumb injury that required surgery. He also underwent surgery in July for a core muscle injury and suffered an ankle injury during the first day of training camp.

When healthy, the Duke product showed signs of his potential after Chicago selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a night while shooting 48.5 percent from the field in his first season.

Carter has followed up with 11.9 points and 10.0 rebounds in 2019-20.

While the Bulls haven't been to the playoffs since the 2016-17 campaign, there was optimism entering the season because of the young core in place that features Carter, Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Coby White and Otto Porter Jr.

The team doesn't have another center who elevates that group's ceiling as much as Carter does, but it can turn to the combination of Daniel Gafford and Luke Kornet while he is sidelined.