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Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls

After winning eight of their last 11 games, there’s a growing belief that the Chicago Bulls can make some noise in the post-season.

The Bulls are currently 11th in the Eastern Conference. As such, they will need to navigate the play-in tournament if they want to make it into the playoffs. According to Billy Donovan, Chicago’s belief should help them sustain their current production level.

“There’s just a mentality inside the team,” Billy Donovan told the media on Saturday, March 28. “I think they’ve grown close together, and they realize that with eight or nine or however many games we have left, they wanna try to do something. They really do, and I really appreciate it. Every day, I feel like they come in and give me what they have. I think they give each other what they have. I think it’s the most powerful thing. They have a belief. That they believe they can do it. That, to me, is powerful, and I wanna make sure they maintain that.”

If the standings in the East remain the same in the coming weeks, the Bulls will face the Miami Heat in the opening round of the play-in tournament. Due to their current seeding, Chicago will need to win two games to qualify. First, they would need to overcome Miami, and then they would face the loser of the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.

Bulls Could Draft Nikola Vucevic Replacement

Regardless of what happens between now and the offseason, it’s clear the Bulls’ front office is going to continue re-shaping the roster. According to a recent mock draft from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, Derik Queen could be a potential target for the team on draft night.

“Queen is an outstanding player, a playmaking big man who steps up in the biggest moments and continues to just produce whenever necessary,” Vecenie wrote. “His showdown with fellow perimeter playmaking center Danny Wolf in the Big Ten tournament was one of the most fun games of the week, as Queen went for 32 points and nearly put Maryland on his back to win the game. Queen is averaging 16.3 points, nine rebounds and two assists, but that undersells his passing ability. Heis the exact kind of offensive playmaking center whom teams would love to have, especially if you believe he has potential to shoot from distance.”

Queen would ensure the Bulls have a long-term big man to take over from Nikola Vucevic eventually. Given how Donovan’s team has stayed competitive despite trading away Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso, and DeMar DeRozan over the past 12 months, Queen would be landing in a highly competitive environment, which would be fantastic for his development.

Bulls Expected to Re-sign Coby White

Coby White has been a driving force for the Bulls this season. He’s built on his breakout 2023-24 season. White has proven capable of being the team’s primary or secondary scoring option moving forward. As such, the Bulls are expected to either extend him or re-sign him in 2026.

“Coby, then coming off the shoulder surgery, signed a modest deal for the NBA and has well outperformed it and continues to do so,” Sam Smith wrote in a recent mailbag for NBA.com. “I assume he’ll become an unrestricted free agent after next season. But as the Bulls’ No. 1 option they’d seem to be the most appealing possibility.”

If the Bulls can retain Josh Giddey and White in the coming months, while also adding some fresh talent and high-level prospects, Donvan’s team could be a real threat in the East before too long.

Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor

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