Jaden Ivey, who was brought in at the trade deadline, is expected to be a restricted free agent this summer if the Chicago Bulls extend a qualifying offer.
He has only played four games with Chicago so far because of soreness in his left knee, but the team has continued to express confidence in keeping him long term, according to Joe Cowley.
The transition hasn’t been easy, as Ivey joined midseason and has had to adjust to a new system while dealing with injury, though the organization still views him as a key piece moving forward.
“The unfortunate part was that when he got here, you’re dealing with him coming into a completely new situation after the trade deadline and then trying to get acclimated,” head coach Billy Donovan said.
“I mean, the intention when [made the trade] is this could be somebody that would be here for a while. How all this plays out with the contract in July and the free agency part of it, understanding he’s restricted, I don’t know.
“But our intention organizationally was, this is a guy we feel could be a very, very good player, and this guy’s got a pretty long runway of being somewhat youthful and young.”
Ivey remains out for now and will be reevaluated next week.
