Guard Denzel Valentine is done pretending he’s happy with the Bulls

DETROIT — It was a solid stretch for Bulls swingman Denzel Valentine. The numbers backed it up.

Valentine finally escaped coach Jim Boylen’s doghouse in early December, got back into the Bulls’ rotation and was a factor in the box score, scoring in double figures six times in a span of seven games.

More important, in the 12 games in which Valentine played 10 minutes or more last month, the Bulls won six of them.

Just like that, however, he was back on the bench. And he’s not happy about it.

For the first time, however, he’s really voicing that displeasure rather than simply saying what the Bulls want to hear.

‘‘I’m definitely not happy about it,’’ Valentine said Saturday. ‘‘I’m a competitor. I want to play, I want to be productive, I want to help the team win. But that’s out of my control, so I’m not about to let it make [me] not happy every day.’’

Valentine, who has been considered a ’tweener between shooting guard and small forward since the Bulls drafted him 14th overall out of Michigan State in 2016, was asked whether he has taken advantage of Boylen’s open-door policy and brought his complaints to his coach.

But considering it was Boylen who told Valentine just more than a week ago that he again was out of the rotation, Valentine didn’t see much reason to do so.

‘‘He kind of told me a couple of games ago that I was out of the rotation,’’ Valentine said. ‘‘He didn’t really say why. He’s the coach, and he feels like he wants to do that. He can do that, so . . . ’’

What Valentine won’t do yet is demand a trade. He will be a restricted free agent this summer, and sources have indicated the Bulls don’t see him in their future. If they could package him in a trade by the deadline next month, they would jump at the opportunity.

If Valentine is traded, that’s one thing. But he isn’t walking around and pouting with the hope the Bulls will pull the trigger on a deal. That’s not in his character.

‘‘I’ve just got to take it a day at a time,’’ Valentine said. ‘‘I can’t try and think about the future and worry about the future because you never know what’s going to happen. If I get moved or if I stay here . . . I’m happy I’m in the NBA, living my dream.’’