Alfonzo

McKinnie

With the Bulls due to sign Tristan Thompson once he officially clears waivers, the team needed to open up a roster spot. As a result McKinnie, who has appeared in 17 games for the Bulls this season, is the odd man out. He averaged 3.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.5 3-pointers in 12.1 minutes per game this season. Due to the timing of the transaction, if McKinnie gets picked up by another team he will be eligible for the postseason.

“Airplane Mode” was closing in on a return to action after suffering a bone bruise in his right knee, but he will now be sidelined for up to two months. Jones’ absence ensures that Alfonzo McKinnie and Troy Brown Jr. will have a shot at rotation minutes in the short term, but this may also impact how the Bulls approach the trade deadline. Neither McKinnie nor Brown is worth streaming while Jones sits.

Cook will replace Alfonzo McKinnie, who has been underwhelming at best, so maybe Cook will be a better option in the first unit. Regardless, with DeRozan commanding much of the offense and Caruso and White both active, there’s not much room for Cook to operate. You can probably pivot elsewhere on a busy night.

Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine (knees) didn’t suit up which slid White into a spot-start where he looked pretty good. His game isn’t all too fantasy friendly as illustrated by just one block in nearly 40 minutes of action, but he’s going to have the green light and hit a good chunk of three-pointers for as long Chicago is shorthanded. Alfonzo McKinnie got to start as well but did very little in his 27 minutes, and DeMar DeRozan’s 23/8/7 line is just standard territory for the MVP candidate, with DeRozan’s 7-of-20 shooting clip being far from the norm.

Due to injuries, the Bulls will have a completely new backcourt, with White and Dosunmu replacing Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine. White, who’s rostered in 50% of Yahoo leagues, has been a top-100 player in 9-cat over the last two weeks. He’s a no-brainer if still available in your league. As for Dosunmu, the rookie has been most valuable as a defender thus far. That may change, however, as Chicago will be without LaVine for at least one week. Deep league managers should not hesitate to stream Dosunmu.

This is a better timeline than the one that was reported earlier Thursday, which was 4-6 weeks. Jones’ absence will free up minutes for Alfonzo McKinnie and Troy Brown Jr., but fantasy managers would be better served to wait for Alex Caruso (conditioning) to make his return to the rotation.

He left the game without putting any weight on it and he was helped to the locker room. It would be shocking to see him return tonight and the hope is that he didn’t suffer a serious injury. He started for the Bulls, lasted just one minute and was replaced by Alfonzo McKinnie, who might be the guy to grab in deep leagues if DJJ is going to miss time (we think he will).

McKinnie was placed in protocols the day after Christmas and has been sidelined ever since. His return gives the Bulls another option on the wing, but he won’t be of any value as far as fantasy is concerned.

McKinnie has apparently cleared health and safety protocols, but he’ll remain sidelined as he gets his conditioning back up. He can remain on waiver wires, where he should have already been.

This comes just after McKinnie signed with Chicago through the remainder of the season. His minutes should be divvied up among the guys returning from league protocols.