Bulls rookie Dalen Terry not opposed to G League if it means minutes

Bulls rookie Dalen Terry checked some boxes throughout training camp.

He admittedly started to get a feel for the speed of the NBA game, continued to work on his three-point shot and brought a promised intensity to the second unit.

That doesn’t mean Terry will be a factor when the games start to count in a few weeks. If there are no further injuries, he might not even be in the rotation at the start of the regular season.

That’s the reality Terry has been dealing with, and he’s hoping to use the four preseason games to change that narrative.

“Do whatever I can do to stay on the floor,’’ Terry said Tuesday when asked about a role. “If Coach [Billy Donovan] says he needs me to play defense and not even shoot the ball, that’s what he needs me to do. If he tells me I need to go out there and try to score and do little things and all that, I’ll do that, too. Whatever they ask of me is what I’m gonna try to do.’’

And that includes eventually going down to the G League if the organization feels he needs to get more minutes.

It’s that mentality that might be the most impressive trait Terry has displayed. Even though he’s a first-round pick (18th overall), he’s not above whatever will be asked of him.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“[Terry is] a hell of a passer and is like a Swiss Army knife,’’ All-Star guard Zach LaVine said. “He’s gonna have to go through every rookie up and down just like everybody. He brings a great attitude to the locker room. I think that’s very important.’’

Terry has a precedent in his favor.

Last season, second-round pick Ayo Dosunmu was in a similar situation and was promised few minutes entering the regular season.

Once the injuries hit, however, Dosunmu showed his value and never looked back. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Terry.

“[Dosunmu] gives me tips every day,’’ Terry said. “He’s actually one of the guys on the team that talks to me the most, just talks me through stuff. I give credit to him because I watched the Bulls last year, and I saw what he did and how he went from playing nothing to a lot.’’

Turning up the Heat

The three remaining preseason games are nice little pickup exhibitions for the Bulls, but the veterans know the real test doesn’t come until the regular-season opener Oct. 19 in Miami.

It’s right into the fire of dealing with “Heat culture.’’

Few are more acquainted with that than Goran Dragic, who spent seven seasons in Miami and knows what awaits.

“It’s way different,’’ Dragic said of how the Heat handle training camp and every-day practices. “I mean they hold you accountable. You have to [have] body fat [measured] every week, have to come in and do pre-practice, practice. Every practice is basically ‘‘Hunger Games.’’ You have to put the pads on, tape your ankles, and it’s basically like [regular-season] games. Iron sharpens iron, and that’s how they approach it.’’

Asked where the Bulls’ training camp stacked up, Dragic did call it “intense.’’

“From Day 1 through the last day of training camp, the guys worked hard,’’ Dragic said.

“[Donovan] said the main focus was they needed to get better than last year, and I felt like everybody who came in had that mentality.’’