MILWAUKEE — Jevon Carter only spent a few NBA seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sort of homecoming for the guard on Sunday.
He saw who he wanted to see, even handed out a few hugs in the hallway, but he also put it all in perspective in his preseason opener as now a member of the division-rival Bulls.
“Business is the business,’’ Carter said.
Even with the 105-102 loss to the Bucks, so far business was good.
Joining Torrey Craig as one of the two major added offseason pieces, Craig came off the bench with a second unit built mostly around defense, not only playing off the ball, but running the point.
The veteran went 3-of-7 from the field, hit a three, and added two rebounds and two assists.
“It’s a team game so the attitude this season is if you win we all shine,’’ Carter said of his mentality in his new environment. “So my biggest thing is just to win and the rest will take care of itself.’’
That “rest’’ he was talking about?
A certain starting point guard spot that’s up for grabs.
Coby White and Carter are in the running for it, while Ayo Dosunmu is more a dark horse. It’s a competition that started in training camp last week, and will likely go on throughout a good part of the preseason.
Sunday definitely didn’t settle much.
White was given the starting nod and looked very comfortable running the show with the veteran group, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting (2-of-5 from three), as well as grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists.
While the scoring was nice from White, his decision making was even better, showing off all the work he’s put in and the amount of film he’s watched.
Dosunmu chipped in eight points.
So was Donovan closer to putting the point guard puzzle together? Not even close, and don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
“I know (executive vice president of basketball operations) Arturas (Karnisovas) spoke about the competition at that position and I think that just being around Jevon a short period of time, and knowing Coby, knowing Ayo, all three of those guys are really competitive, but first and foremost they’re about the team,’’ Donovan said of the situation. “I think ego-wise any player wants to start, like everyone does. But what they’re willing to do is what’s best for the team. So to say, ‘Hey listen, this guy really separated himself.’ I don’t think that happened.’’
Carter didn’t seem very concerned about it either way. So much so, he’s been a key mentor for both the young players he’s competing against.
“Their intensity,’’ Carter said of what he’s liked about White and Dosunmu. “They bring it every day, no days off. I love that about them. Communication and just holding each other accountable.’’
A compliment that White had no problem accepting.
Facing free agency back in July, the Bulls made White a priority in re-signing. Not only because of the vacancy at the point left with Lonzo Ball’s injury issues, but because of the steps they saw White taking to get better.
“I played well,’’ White said. “Gotta try and push the pace a little bit, gotta get organized more coming down the floor on made baskets, but other than that I felt like offensively as a whole we all played well. We all tried to do the right things, we all tried to play to our identity, moving the ball.
“We got a bunch of open looks, bunch of open shots, getting to the paint and making the right plays. They didn’t fall (Sunday) but this is what preseason is for.’’
