Derrick Jones Jr. latest Bulls player placed in health and safety protocols

The Chicago Bulls’ Covid-19 outbreak keeps getting worse and worse. The Bulls placed F Derrick Jones Jr. into health and safety protocols on Thursday, joining G/F DeMar DeRozan, G/F Javonte Green, G Coby White and G Matt Thomas on the list. With five players unable to play for Chicago, the Bulls brought in Stanley Johnson on a short-term contract to replace the void on the roster. We could see the Bulls add another player to field a team with Airplane Mode out now.

The Bulls have been able to weather the Covid storm having won four of their past five games. Wednesday night vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t go well, but that was bound to happen eventually. Chicago still has Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball out of protocols. LaVine and Vucevic we know have had Covid the past two seasons; the big man was out earlier in the year in protocols. LaVine had Covid-19 last season. Alex Caruso (hamstring) is injured.

So with six regulars not in the rotation, the Bulls will have to rely on more bench players. Troy Brown Jr., Tony Bradley, Ayo Dosunmu, Alize Johnson and Devon Dotson got playing time on Wednesday vs. the Cavaliers. Stanley Johnson could end up seeing playing time against the Miami Heat on Saturday. Either way, the Bulls should be getting Caruso and White back soon. It also depends if any of these players tested positive initially or were close contact. Negative tests could allow players to return sooner rather than later.