Toni Kukoc was placed on the Bulls’ injured list Wednesday with a strained lower back, and Stacey King was activated after missing 15 games with a sprained right ankle.
Kukoc sustained the injury lifting weights Tuesday morning and, in addition to the Miami game Wednesday night, will miss a minimum of four games: Friday against Denver, Sunday in New York and home games against Charlotte and Golden State.
General Manager Jerry Krause said he does not anticipate Kukoc missing any more games after that. The logical guess is that Bill Cartwright, who sat out his second straight game with recurring soreness in his right knee but is expected to play in New York, will replace Kukoc on the injured list next week.
Also missing Wednesday night’s game was Horace Grant, who complained of a sore throat, according to trainer Chip Schaefer.
As for King, he said he could have played during the West Coast trip. “It still wasn’t strong, but if they needed me to come off (the injured list), I would have. It was my decision to stay behind.”
Lost weekend: Bill Wennington didn’t enjoy his long weekend off. He boarded a plane to New York Friday night, only to have the landing gear malfunction and the flight rerouted at the last minute to Syracuse. After an hour and a half there, he decided he’d had enough. Though his wife and son were waiting for him in New York, where they were to visit relatives, he opted to fly back to Chicago.
“I decided I didn’t want to see another airplane,” he said. “So I spent the weekend alone. I’ve never watched so much TV in my life.”
