The Chicago Bulls season hasn't gone quite as hoped for. Last year's Bulls got off to a terrific start before injuries derailed their season. This year's edition has gotten off to a slow start, but Chicago hopes that returns from injuries will lift them.

One of those returns hoped for is Lonzo Ball. Ball has had several fits and starts with his return from meniscus surgery. But Chicago is hopeful of having the veteran point guard back in their lineup shortly after the calendar flips to 2023.

Ball missed 47 games last season and has missed the Bulls first 20 games of this season. At one point, Ball had to be completely shut down during his rehab due to persistent pain. In recent weeks, Ball has made progress that has Chicago optimistic he'll return sometime in the coming months.

The Chicago Bulls signed Billy Donovan to a contract extension before the start of the season.

Donovan had two more seasons remaining on his original four-year contract.

Donovan was hired by Arturas Karnisovas as head coach in 2020 shortly after he parted ways with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Nikola Vucevic was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Friday after making an obscene gesture during the Chicago Bulls' 115-111 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Vucevic raised his middle finger following a traveling call, though did not receive a technical foul in the moment.

Vucevic would receive his third technical foul of the season later in the game.

The NBA has attempted to crack down on teams tampering with opposing players in recent years. After a wave of punishments, the league and the NBPA are expected to revisit rules around tampering with pending free agents.

The NBA pushed the start of the free agent negotiating period up to 6:00 PM ET on June 30. This was after years of free agency opening at midnight on July 1, with many deals being agreed to immediately upon free agency opening. That six-hour head start still hasn't proven to be enough for many teams.

The league voided an agreed-to deal between the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings in the 2020 offseason, because the teams got an early jump on the negotiations. The Bucks were forced to forfeit a second-round pick for tampering with Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was set to be a restricted free agent.

The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat were also forced to forfeit second-round picks after jumping the gun on free agent negotiations. The Bulls and Heat had agreed to sign-and-trade deals too early with Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, respectively.

This week, the NBA took away two second-round picks from the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers were punished after they were found to have reached early agreements with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. In addition, the league is still in the midst of an investigation into the New York Knicks signing of Jalen Brunson.