The medical condition that prompted the Bulls to waive two-way guard Yuki Kawamura in October was a blood clot in his lower right leg, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links). The team re-signed Kawamura earlier this week.
As Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune (subscription required) writes, head coach Billy Donovan explained on Wednesday that the Bulls always intended to re-sign Kawamura once he had recovered, and that the 5’8″ guard remained in Chicago to work with the team’s medical staff despite not being on the roster. According to Donovan, Kawamura was able to participate in on-court basketball activities during his recovery process, but didn’t take any contact until he received medical clearance.
“You always take those things seriously,” Donovan said. “He’s worked really, really hard. I’m happy for him because at that point, when you have something like that, you just don’t know what that’s going to look like in the future. I’m just happy it all worked out well for him.”
Victor Wembanyama, Ausar Thompson, and Brandon Ingram are among the current NBA players who have recovered from blood clots in recent years. Wizards forward Cam Whitmore is currently sidelined due to a blood clot in his shoulder.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Exploring Jalen Smith‘s impact on the Bulls, Spencer Davies of RG.org notes that the team has lost all seven games that the big man has missed this season and has a 17-13 record when he plays. Smith’s +3.5 net rating is the best mark of any player on the roster. “I think he’s been really, really good for us,” Donovan told Davies last month. “… The thing that I appreciate about him, he doesn’t mind playing the center spot and power forward spot. He just wants to go out there and play, and I respect that about him.”
- With a 28-9 record and a four-game cushion in the race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Pistons are better off betting on continuity than making a major move at the trade deadline, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). Still, as Sankofa details in a separate subscriber-only story, Detroit holds a $14MM traded player exception that could be used to add another rotation piece. Sankofa considers a few players the team could target using that TPE, including Sam Hauser, Bobby Portis, Georges Niang, and even Zaccharie Risacher.
- After he spent his first 10 NBA seasons in Indiana, Myles Turner‘s numbers in his first year with the Bucks are down across the board, but he’s doing his best not to let that bother him, telling Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription required) that he views any feelings of discomfort as a challenge to be overcome. “I’ve been comfortable the past three, four years. It’s something I’ve known,” Turner said. “I think true growth happens in uncomfortable moments. I’m rolling with the punches. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy making a change like that, so just embracing the uncomfortable part of the role right now.”