Latest injuries to Bulls backcourt might be push to end 'Bulls luck'

Josh Giddey walked out of the home locker room on Monday night all smiles.

Not a limp, not a get-up in his gait. Actually, the look of a guy that won’t be laid up too long with a left hamstring injury, and one that also owns a killer fur coat — possibly chinchilla.

By several accounts, the Coby White right calf setback was described as a “tightness” rather than a strain. Huge news considering White missed months when he first suffered the strain back in August. When he had left calf tightness a few weeks back, he missed only two games.

No update on his choice of winter apparel, however.

So did the Bulls dodge a huge bullet with their starting backcourt going down in the lop-sided loss to Minnesota? In the short-term, yes. Big picture, however, more bad luck. Make that “Bulls luck.”

If bad luck really is when a lack of preparation meets reality, as the saying goes, then “Bulls luck” is when a lack of awareness and proper decision-making meets reality. Arturas Karnisovas, meet your reality.

Hold on to assets too long in the chase for mediocrity, the assets overripe.

Select a willowy-built project in a can’t miss draft class, the rookie breaks down.

Build a roster that only has a chance to succeed if all the pieces are in place and healthy, the depth dries up over an 82-game season.

Hard lessons that the executive vice president of basketball operations has been punched with in just the last year alone and in some cases seems to ignore.

But now it’s about to get very real for Karnisovas and the Bulls. Even if White and Giddey miss a week of games, Karnisovas will be a month out of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, holding a dead hand with six unrestricted free agents and possibly four or five games under .500.

The Sun-Times reported earlier in the month that the Bulls have had discussions with other teams about trading White. A third calf injury, however, could complicate the expected return package. Karnisovas cannot get stuck on that. Pick a lane, Arturas.

What he currently has on his side is his last four trades have been above average moves. Fixing his own mistakes in some cases? Definitely, but solid NBA moves.

The Alex Caruso for Giddey deal was a win-win for both organizations, moving off DeMar DeRozan allowed the style of play to change, and getting out from under the Zach LaVine contract was masterful, even though Karnisovas was the one that handed the guard the max deal in the first place.

Then this summer he traded Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro. It’s been a disappointing season for Ball and the Cavaliers, while Okoro is a much-needed starter for the Bulls because of his defensive presence alone.

Pedestrian moves for the upper executives in the Association, but a hot streak for Karnisovas.

Those were the midterms, however. The next four weeks he’s taking his finals.

If Karnisovas cannot navigate the obvious, refocus his big picture, he won’t survive the length of his latest secret contract extension. The Reinsdorfs are patient and loyal to a fault, but they are not naïve. There is growing restlessness, especially when the home suites are becoming a bit more empty lately.

So while the Giddey and White injuries were viewed as another setback for the organization, they could actually push Karnisovas to pursue the inevitable.

It’s time to put an end to the “Bulls luck.”