What options could the Chicago Bulls turn to if small forward Chandler Hutchison is to miss any stretch of the beginning of the regular season?
A difficult wave of injuries usually tends to hit the Chicago Bulls right before or during Training Camp. This year appears to be no exception since the Bulls had second-year center Wendell Carter Jr. miss the Las Vegas NBA Summer League (when it appeared he wanted to play) from a sports hernia and small forward Chandler Hutchison has a hamstring injury he’s dealing with now.
Carter Jr. could be back in the fold for the Bulls just ahead of the beginning of Training Camp. His surgery to treat the sports hernia injury came back in July and shouldn’t limit him too much heading into the regular season.
Meanwhile, the Hutchison injury should give Bulls fans shades of what shooting guard Denzel Valentine went through last season. Valentine had what looked to be a lower-body injury that might only hold him out of Training Camp and the preseason. That turned out not to be the case with him missing the entirety of last season.
But we shouldn’t dial up the panic meter for Hutchison to the degree it was at for Valentine just yet. Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen does have work to do to figure out what the best route is to handle this Hutchison injury. The Bulls just can’t start as slow this coming season as they did under former head coach Fred Hoiberg to begin last season.
Here’s a look into the five best options for the Chicago Bulls front office and coaching staff to make up for the loss of wing Chandler Hutchison due to a recent hamstring injury.