Bulls continue swimming in mediocrity with latest loss to Rockets

HOUSTON — Bulls coach Billy Donovan isn’t a “capologist” and doesn’t pretend to be. He admits he doesn’t know the exact financial worth of players around the NBA once they hit the open market.

His job is to try to make the Bulls better on the court, especially with the trade deadline just over three weeks away. While Arturas Karnisovas, executive vice president of basketball operations, fields calls on possible deals, it’s on Donovan to elevate the roster he already has to “define a Bulls player.”

Guard Tre Jones? He’s certainly one of them, as evidenced by his career-high 34 points and seven assists in a 119-113 loss to the Rockets on Tuesday night at Toyota Center.

Injured big man Zach Collins is another with his physicality and mindset.

But Donovan knows that if the Bulls are going to get out of the quicksand of mediocrity, raising their talent level soon is a must.

“[Getting that star player] is a totally valid point,” Donovan said. “I think what you have to do organizationally with the number of guys that we have as free agents is, how do you define a Bulls player? What do you want a Bulls player to look like? With that being said, some of these guys can be guys that are in your second unit that you can sit there and say, ‘We don’t want to lose this guy,’ but he could be really terrific in the second unit.

“Then the other part comes into what do those financials look like? What is the financial investment? Does the player sit there and say, ‘OK, I want to go into free agency and see what’s out there’? What we need to do is identify who are those guys that we feel represent how we want to play.

“Clearly, trying to raise the talent level and add more to the team, no question that needs to happen, but the players you have within your organization, we’ve got to do a really good job evaluating those guys. That’s not to say that if something came down the road for Arturas and [general manager] Marc [Eversley] they wouldn’t say, ‘Listen, this is an unbelievable situation.’ First and foremost, they’re going to do what’s best for the organization.”

It will be a test for the Bulls as the trade deadline nears. Until then, Donovan’s first priority is winning games. The Bulls set themselves up for a victory against the Rockets, leading by one with 3:29 left. Then they blinked. After a nasty one-handed slam by Kevin Durant, and with Jabari Smith Jr. heating up, the lead was gone, no matter Jones’ contributions.

“My shot felt good,” Jones said. “[I] obviously shot more than I usually do. Just trying to take what the defense gave me.”

The Bulls had some rotation breakdowns in the final stretch, and their shooting did cool down. But the difference seemed to be Durant, a future Hall of Famer who finished with 28 points.

The Bulls (18-21) have a nice offensive system. But they also have key players still sidelined and are screaming for a roster overhaul.

“[We’ll] just continue to come together as a group,” Jones said. “We’re not going to be whole for a little bit. We kind of realize that. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”