What once felt like waving the white flag has yielded offensive results. Two months ago, when the Chicago Bulls decided to trade Zach LaVine for a trio of role players and a first-rounder—the oft-discussed, prolonged idea of rebuilding soon materialized. Chicago won one of its next seven games after the trade. Prioritizing youth and lottery odds had never been more apparent.
That is until the Bulls held steady in 10th place. Despite a myriad of losses, the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Toronto Raptors continued to struggle, all unable (and unwilling) to displace the Bulls. Consequently, Chicago started winning amid breakouts from Coby White and Josh Giddey. The Bulls won nine of 15 games in March.
While White and Giddey took their games to new heights, the aforementioned trio of role players began to find their groove in the Windy City. Perhaps most impactful was former San Antonio Spur and the only of three new acquisitions on an expiring contract, Tre Jones.
The 6-foot-1 playmaker averaged merely 7.2 points and 2.4 assists in 15.9 minutes per game in February. Jones’s net rating was an abysmal minus 13.2. Nonetheless, as the Bulls began playing competitive basketball, Jones’ impact mirrored that of the team’s. The Duke product started all but one contest in March, averaging 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists while converting 58.8 percent of his field goals and 57.1 percent of his triples.
Tre Jones is in danger of missing the Play-In Tournament
Jones was on a tear to begin March. Unfortunately, a late-game injury in a contest against the Sacramento Kings halted his impressive run. The 25-year-old guard suffered a midfoot sprain on March 20 and was given a two-week timeline for re-evaluation.
Two weeks later, crickets. Jones remains in a walking boot without an updated progress report. The only tidbit of information made public is a post on X via Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. With less than a week remaining, Cowley stated, “[Jones] could be running out of runway for a return.”
The two-week timeline did initially feel hasty. Whenever Jones first suffered the injury, we researched the uncommon midfoot sprain among NBA players. The most recent example was Minnesota Timberwolves’ rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. The swingman was diagnosed with the injury on January 13, only to be cleared 18 days later. Shannon Jr. was given a two-to-four-week recovery period. He made his return to the hardwood in just under three weeks.
April 7 marks 18 days since Jones suffered the injury, and 17 since he was diagnosed with a midfoot sprain. Jones still being in a walking boot is concerning. More than likely, the floor general has yet to do any on-court work. With less than a week to go in the regular season, Jones is certainly running out of time to return, as Cowley mentioned. April 13, Chicago’s regular-season finale, will mark 24 days since Jones suffered the injury.
While there remains optimism that Jones can make a comeback, it’s less likely by the day. We can only hope for Jones to return to competing in basketball activities soon, which will give him a chance to suit up in the Play-In Tournament on April 16.
