Happy Monday!

Zach LaVine’s sprained ankle casts more doubt on the possibility that the Bulls will trade him ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline on February 8.

“He certainly has swelling. I mean, that’s pretty clear,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “I don’t want to put a timeline on it because I just don’t know how long ankle sprains take to heal. They did imaging. Clearly, he has an ankle sprain, and they’ll treat him and get him back as soon as he can (go).”

Billy Donovan refused to place a timeline on the LaVine injury, but it’s an injury that could cost LaVine a couple of weeks. That’s time that the Bulls could ill afford to spare if they’re serious about shipping him out of town.

After LaVine missed 18 games with an injury, his trade market cratered. Teams weren’t comfortable with the idea of trading for a player who comes with three years and approximately $138 million remaining on his deal who was hurt and has a history of injuries.

The real kicker here is that LaVine was playing well recently, helping build up his trade market around the league as we neared the deadline. But his latest injury all but seals the deal: LaVine is staying in Chicago for the rest of the season.

The Bulls don’t have to sell low on LaVine, and they shouldn’t even consider attaching an asset to him to get out from under his contract. Not yet, anyway.

That’s an idea that I’ve seen. It makes sense from an outside perspective. LaVine has always been more valuable to the Bulls than other NBA teams. To other teams, he’s injury-prone, expensive, and not the best player on their roster. Whichever contender traded for LaVine would be bringing in a max player who might be their second or third scoring option on most nights.

It’s just not a very attractive scenario. So, at this point, it seems LaVine and the Bulls’ long-speculated separation will have to wait until the offseason, at least.

On the bright side, the Bulls looked pretty good this weekend …

On Saturday, the LaVine-less Bulls blew the Memphis Grizzlies out, 125-96. Chicago shot 51.6 percent from the floor and 42.4 percent from three-point range. They owned Memphis in the paint, outscoring them 52-34, and dominated nearly every other category.

Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls in scoring with 20 points in 27 minutes of action off the bench. DeMar DeRozan (18), Coby White (17), Patrick Williams (15), Andre Drummond (15), Jevon Carter (12), and Nikola Vucevic (11) joined Dosunmu as the Bulls finished with seven players in double figures against Memphis on Saturday.

If you missed Saturday’s victory over the Grizzlies, Eli has more on the game in his Enhanced Box Score:

Yesterday’s Best

CHICAGO BEARS

• The Bears OC search has been the talk of the town for the last two weeks, so it’s easy to forget that they also need to find a new defensive coordinator. As Luis wrote on Sunday, former Bears safety Chris Harris is set to interview for that position, becoming the first known candidate for the opening.

• Get this! The Raiders are reportedly interested in former Bears OC Luke Getsy …

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

• With the Blackhawks off this weekend, Tab took time to preview what next year’s team could look like, including internal free-agent and prospect options.

CHICAGO BULLS

• Eli had more thoughts on the Bulls’ win over the Grizzlies this weekend and Zach LaVine’s absence.

CHICAGO CUBS

• There’s more smoke regarding the likelihood that Cody Bellinger and the Cubs will eventually reunite in Chicago this season.

• Well, you can scratch Robert Stephenson off the wishlist. Stephenson is heading to Anaheim.

What’s on deck?

• It’s a double-serving of Chicago sports action tonight, with both the Blackhawks and Bulls in action!

• The Blackhawks are in Vancouver to take on the Canucks. Puck drop is set for 9:00 PM CT (yep, get the coffee ready!) You can watch the Blackhawks on NBC Sports Chicago Plus and ESPN+.

• The Bulls are also on the road, visiting the Suns in Phoenix. Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM CT. You can watch the Bulls on NBC Sports Chicago.