The Bulls are going to have to wait a bit longer for Nic Claxton to make his Chicago debut.
Coach Tiago Splitter said Monday that Claxton is still working back from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the entire preseason, and the center is likely to miss around two more weeks, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. Splitter made clear that’s only an estimate, with Claxton continuing to be evaluated during that span. If his return lands on November 2 against the Sixers, that would mean Chicago goes through its first six games without him.
Claxton came in during the offseason trade expected to give the Bulls their starting center, but his absence has already complicated things further because Zach Collins has also been dealing with a quad injury and sat out the full preseason as well.
There was better news on Collins, though. He practiced Monday with no restrictions and said afterward that he felt good, with hopes of being ready for Wednesday’s opener against the Raptors if that feeling holds, per K.C.
Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. For Splitter, getting Collins back would at least provide a veteran option while Chicago waits on its new starter.
In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid’s health through training camp has changed the tone of the Sixers’ preparation. Instead of simply watching his progress, the team has been able to install the offense and defense it actually plans to use.
That has given Nick Nurse more freedom to put in schemes and allowed new teammates to get used to Embiid’s patterns, according to Chris Hine of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tyrese Maxey said that kind of continuity matters.
“For him to be healthy throughout the entirety (of the preseason), you can put in more packages,” Tyrese Maxey said. “There’s been times when he hasn’t been healthy, and we get into the game, and now we’re trying to learn in the flow.”
Maxey already understands where Embiid likes to receive the ball. For the players still figuring out when to cut and where to space themselves, the repeated work has real value.
LeBron James has also been getting in work with Embiid before practices as the two continue building chemistry after sharing the floor during Team USA’s 2024 Olympic gold-medal run. James said Embiid wasn’t always at his best that summer, but this time around the center has been in much better shape.
“He gave us everything that he had physically,” James said. “But there was times he felt great, times he didn’t feel great.
That was just about him being healthy. But this summer he’s been the most healthy he’s been in a long time.”
New York’s camp has had a very different feel. Andre Drummond arrived and found a group that already knew each other inside and out.
The Knicks kept 10 of the 11 players who logged the most minutes last season, and they also brought back Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Clarkson in free agency, according to Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News. Drummond was brought in to fill the spot left by Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Celtics.
For a veteran center stepping into a roster with so much continuity, it has been a strange kind of adjustment.
“This is the first time I’m the only new guy to a team, so it feels kind of weird. Like, an outcast trying to fit in,” Drummond said.
“But the guys are very welcoming. They made me feel very welcome to be here.”
Sblendorio noted that Shamet, Alvarado and Clarkson likely could have landed more money and bigger roles elsewhere, but chose to return without any promise of steady minutes. Shamet said that mindset is part of what makes the group worth keeping together.
“If Jose’s got it going and my minutes are shortened, awesome, and vice versa,” he said. “From a backup guard position, that’s very rare, where no ego or ulterior motives get involved. That’s something special that you want to be a part of.”
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The catch is that any pursuit would come with real financial consequences, since a deal would likely need to account for a long-term commitment on top of the trade price. That is where the gamble gets franchise-shaping for Chicago: Towns would fit a need, but the cost structure could lock the Bulls into a choice they would have to live with for years. For now, the opening is there, but the path to actually pulling it off remains complicated. [Read more 🡒]
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Bulls Frontcourt Relief Comes With One Big Opening Night Concern
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Nic Claxton is still on the sideline with a hamstring injury, and his absence leaves Chicago with more sorting to do than it would prefer this close to opening night. The Bulls are adjusting their frontcourt plans around the injuries, and the bigger question now is how much stability they can find before the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]