Even though rookie big man Wendell Carter Jr. might be out for the rest of the season after having surgery on his left thumb, that hasn’t changed the Bulls’ stance about trading veteran Robin Lopez.
According to a source Friday, Lopez is still very much on the block. The problem remains a lack of takers. The same could be said about forward Jabari Parker.
Still, the Bulls would like to deal both players by the trade deadline Feb. 7. Just don’t ask coach Jim Boylen about where trade talks stand. Boylen, who took over for fired Fred Hoiberg on Dec. 3, made his stance on that clear.
‘‘They have not expressed to me any level of activity,’’ Boylen said of the front office. ‘‘I’m sure they’re fielding calls, and when something is appropriate, I’m sure they’ll contact me on it or loop me in. But I’ve been focused on the team, and they’re manning the phones, doing what they need to do.
‘‘I don’t go upstairs and ask them: ‘Hey, what’s going on? We doing this or doing that?’ I don’t. I wait for them to call me when they need me. If they ask me something, great.
‘‘I’m focused on the team and improving — improving how I operate, improving how we operate. Just growing. It’s a full-time job.’’
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When asked whether he felt comfortable enough to tell the front office a player had to go, Boylen replied: ‘‘No, I don’t do that. I have great respect for authority and the chain of command, and I expect that on my staff and our team. I’ve always done that everywhere I’ve been, and I’ll continue to do that.’’
Boylen wasn’t the only one to take a hands-off approach, either. Guard Zach LaVine wasn’t going to dwell on who might be traded before the deadline.
‘‘That is not my field of work,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘I don’t know. Hopefully something happens good for the team. . . . But I really don’t know. I haven’t been with the Bulls’ organization long enough to figure out what they want to do at the trade deadline.’’
Home dogs
Boylen likes to use the term ‘‘road dogs’’ when describing the mentality he would like his players to have when playing away from the United Center. But the Bulls’ 5-19 home record doesn’t have him excited, either.
‘‘It’s frustrating,’’ Boylen said before the team’s 106-101 loss to the Clippers. ‘‘It’s painful. We want to play better at home. We want to win home games, play better in front of our fans. We talk about those things. Again, we have to own better how we play at home. We can talk about it and talk about it, but we have to do it.’’
A non-answer
Parker returned after missing the game Wednesday against the Hawks with a sore patellar tendon in his right knee and scored 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting against the Clippers. He was asked about the hype surrounding potential No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, who plays at Duke, Parker’s alma mater.
‘‘Honestly, I’ve always been a team player,’’ Parker said. ‘‘I just love to see those guys get out there and be pros, like Cam Reddish, R.J. Barrett and even Ty [Jones’] little brother [Tre Jones]. Hopefully they stay strong together.’’
