Bulls’ roster headed for key changes, so talk was given … just in case

NEW YORK — It wasn’t the type of talk Billy Donovan felt was necessary.

Not with the makeup of this group of Bulls players.

But successful NBA coaches are sticklers for the details, and a team preparing for a season in which $84 million in total salary is expiring for six different players in possible walk years isn’t exactly a small item to be swept under the rug and ignored.

So Donovan had the talk anyway, more of a just in case.

“Right when training camp started, I addressed all this because we have seven or eight guys that are in the same situation, and I think it’s very easy if you’re not in the rotation or you’re not playing well to start to press, start to think about yourself,” Donovan said. “There’s a level of unselfishness (we needed) where you can start thinking about others, other than yourself certainly, when your situation is uncertain going forward.”

The likes of Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu and Jevon Carter — all free agents to be — have embraced that unselfishness. Coby White (calf strain) hasn’t played for the 5-1 Bulls yet this season but has already insisted that his pending free agency isn’t a priority. Zach Collins (wrist surgery)? The same.

Even Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips, who are in the final season of guaranteed money on their rookie contracts, have played their roles without making waves.

While that seems like a minor accomplishment, it’s not.

Ask point guard Josh Giddey, who went through last season with his rookie contract expiring and major uncertainty surrounding him as he headed into restricted free agency.

Giddey started off the year poorly and admitted that it wore on him. Once he was able to get out from under that weight of overthinking it — as well as more being asked of him after Zach LaVine was traded — he played free. He played like an All-Star.

Now that he’s on the other side of it thanks to a four-year, $100 million extension and sees how well his teammates are handling it, yeah, calling it a “good thing” is an understatement. As Giddey said, anyone watching the Bulls and the unselfish style of play couldn’t point out who was on a long-term deal and who was playing for the next payday.

“If someone was ever in the crowd and could point out the guys that are free agents at the end of the year by how they’re playing that would be a problem,” Giddey said. “I think the fact that we don’t have that is a great thing. Unselfish guys, everyone focused on the same thing of winning games, and everything else comes as a byproduct of that. You win, winners get paid.

“As a player, you’d be lying if you weren’t thinking about yourself at times, so 100 percent (it’s impressive). Every guy on a rookie deal coming into free agency, it’s not the first thing on your mind, but everyone thinks about it. I just love that we have such an unselfish group and have bought in.”

There is a but, however.

It’s still November and the Bulls are playing winning basketball. What happens if there’s a slide and the February trade deadline is approaching? What if a player is losing minutes and playing time come March?

There’s a fine line between team and the business of basketball.

“Like I told those guys, ‘July (free agency) will get here in July,’ “ Donovan said. “Why worry or think about that when you have things in front of you now? We don’t have a team that can iso or guys just go get theirs. We’ve got to rely on each other. To be able to do that everyone has to be tied together and linked together because I think the success of all those guys individually requires each other, and that’s kind of been the message to everyone.”