Bulls have created a powder keg with guard glut, 15-man roster

Golden State Warriors vs Chicago Bulls - Full Game Highlights | March 2, 2017 | 2016-17 NBA Season

More often than not in recent seasons, the Bulls haven"t fielded a full 15-man roster. They"ve done so for a variety of reasons lack of need, ability to take back more players in an unbalanced trade, cost savings.

but the bulls appear poised to keep their roster at 15 after letting pass the March 1 date to waive players and let them be playoff-eligible if they sign with another team. Either that or they"ll waive somebody and he won"t be playoff-eligible, which isn"t a good look around the league.

The Bulls discussed waiving a player to ease the logjam at point guard and unbalanced roster that resulted after last week"s trade with the Thunder. But ultimately the recent injury to Michael Carter-Williams and other unknown reasons convinced management to keep the status quo.

The situation creates an unnecessary daily headache for coach Fred Hoiberg, who will have at least one disgruntled guard from the group of Carter-Williams, Jerian Grant, Cameron Payne and Rajon Rondo at all times. Isaiah Canaan, who has been out of the rotation for a while, is the fifth point guard.

Rondo recently has taken the high road and settled in with the second unit but calmly dissected his demotion in late December and early January, saying he didn"t understand it. Similar to when he lost his starting job to Grant in late January, Carter-Williams expressed frustration over his limited role.

"I"ve been a little surprised," Carter-Williams said.

Carter-Williams is close to returning from left patellar tendinitis, but the point-guard situation has become even further muddied by Payne"s arrival.

"We"ll see how it plays out. It"ll be based on different matchups," Hoiberg said. "You just have to keep talking to them and keep them ready for when their name is called."

Memory lane: Steve Kerr missed the morning shootaround because he wasn"t feeling well but was typically engaged in his pregame media session, even lightheartedly quizzing reporters on who scored the first basket in United Center history.

"You think (Scottie) Pippen or (Michael) Jordan. It"s Larry Krystkowiak," Kerr said. "Apropos of nothing, there"s one of my memories."

There are others, of course, including championships.

"Going into that locker room and pouring champagne, that"s a memory that will last forever," Kerr said. "Those were some of the best times of my life."

Sigh of relief: The Warriors will be without Kevin Durant for at least a month after he sprained his medial collateral ligament Tuesday. But it could"ve been worse.

"At first, we thought he was done for the year," Kerr said. "That second prognosis was way better. He"s feeling a lot better about things now than he was at first."

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-point-guard-logjam-bulls-spt-0303-20170302-story.html