Fifth Chicago Bulls Player Added To COVID-19 Protocol: Report

CHICAGO — Another day, another addition to the Chicago Bulls’ growing COVID-19 protocol list.

A day after the short-handed Bulls lost for the first time this month in Cleveland, an ESPN report indicated that forward Derrick Jones, Jr., has been added to the COVID-19 list on Thursday. The Bulls have not confirmed the report, but if true, the Bulls will have added five players to the list since Dec. 1.

Jones, an undrafted free agent out of UNLV, scored 11 points and logged 28 minutes in Wednesday's loss to Cleveland and is averaging 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

The Bulls, who are among the top teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, struggled in a 115-93 loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Since Dec. 1, Bulls leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, along with guard Matt Thomas and teammates Devonte Green and Coby White have tested positive for COVID-19.

Team officials have stated that all of the Bulls players are fully vaccinated. Because the players are vaccinated, they must produce back-to-back negative tests within a 48-hour period to return. Nikola Vucevic went through COVID-19 protocol earlier this year and needed 11 days to return, but also struggled with his fitness level after being out.

The Bulls played with just 11 players in Wednesday night’s loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak. The Bulls, who are also without injured Alex Caruso and Patrick Williams, head to Miami to face the Heat on Saturday.

“We’re better than that,” coach Billy Donovan told reporters after Wednesday’s loss in which the Bulls’ reserves only produced 16 points. “And we need to be better than that. I don’t know when or who is coming back on what dates. My feeling is right now, we’re going into Miami with the same group, and if we don’t compete at a higher level, we’re going to get the same result we got here tonight. ... It’s not to say we’re going to win, but we can do a better job than we did tonight.”