Bulls guard Dalen Terry not letting his playing situation define him

MIAMI — Dalen Terry has a realistic view of his predicament.

He’s a 2022 first-round pick who has never earned starting minutes. Terry has been in what basically has become a contract year but hasn’t convinced the Bulls to make a financial commitment. He could use a change of scenery but knows the only way that would happen by the trade deadline Thursday would be as part of a package.

So Terry does what he has done the last few seasons: He stays ready and waits.

“The human in me would say it’s tough,’’ Terry said, ‘‘but you just have to understand that this is what you get called upon for, so I’m just doing my best to try to stay ready every time I get a chance to play, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that.

‘‘If you would have asked me this when I was a rookie, it would have been hard. But me being four years in, I know what it is. I don’t take anything personal, and my mindset is every time I get a chance to be on an NBA court, I’m going to show why.”

He has done that the last few games against the Heat.

Because of injuries to Tre Jones and Josh Giddey, and Coby White getting a rest day Saturday, Terry has been getting a bump in minutes.

He played 15 minutes and scored eight points Thursday and had nine points in 29 minutes Saturday in the rematch against Miami. Before that, however, Terry was averaging just over eight minutes in January.

“I try to look at it from that place and be positive,” Terry said. “And I look at it as God is putting me through this for a reason. There’s going to be a time where it’s going to all change, and I’m going to look back at this time as the reason why.”

Coach Billy Donovan always has respected Terry’s attitude. When asked about his playing time, Donovan reiterated that he always stays ready to play.

Terry’s not the type of player who’s hoping to be moved next week. If it happens, it happens, and he’ll be ready.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Terry said when asked if he would welcome a new team. “I don’t put too much into it. The trade deadline is what it is. You get traded, you get traded. Hopefully it’s to a good place if you do, or hopefully if you don’t, they make a trade, and a good player comes in.”

Giddey update

Giddey missed 11 games when he first strained his left hamstring and has missed two more since feeling some tightness, but the team’s hope is that he was only days away from returning rather than weeks away.

“I think he’s feeling better, but I think it’s going to be, at least in talking to the medical guys, they’re not going to put him out there until they see the tightness is gone,” Donovan said.

Resting the Vooch

If there ever was a player on the roster who needed a rest day, it was Nikola Vucevic. At 35, he piled up the minutes in January, averaging a team-high 33.1. He has played 35 minutes or more in six games, including 37 minutes Thursday against the Heat.

“He’s been a complete pro in terms of being ready, but he’s endured a lot,” Donovan said.

“I think with Zach [Collins] being absent [with injuries this season], trying to play big, I’ve mentioned a couple of times that his minutes have gotten up there.”