Forward Leonard Miller seemed to be a throw-in.
He sure hasn’t played like one.
As the trade deadline was winding down Feb. 5, the Bulls announced a deal that sent popular guard Ayo Dosunmu and forward Julian Phillips to the Timberwolves for guard Rob Dillingham, four future second-round picks and Miller.
‘‘I think he played six total minutes before he came to us and then with the Ignite team [in the G League before that],’’ coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘I didn’t get a chance to see him a whole lot, so I didn’t really know a lot about him before he got here.’’
Donovan definitely has learned something.
Miller has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games after notching 15 points in the Bulls’ 127-103 loss Friday to the Magic and entered the night averaging 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in April. That included a career-high 26-point effort Thursday against the Wizards.
While Dillingham has shown some flashes of strong play, Miller might be the gem of that deal, especially because the Bulls have a $2.4 million option on him next season. By comparison, they will owe forward Patrick Williams — the No. 4 overall pick in 2020 — $18 million next season, and Miller has been outplaying him by a lot.
‘‘He’s a live body, he competes [and] he’s really long,’’ Donovan said of Miller. ‘‘He kind of has this instinctive way about him on the glass and chasing balls. Even defensively, he’s multidimensional.
‘‘I think the biggest thing with him is he plays so instinctively that he catches up to the league and really understands digging in on film and personnel, guarding, game plans. I think he’s only going to get better because he’s got a really good motor.’’
The Bulls’ loss moved them a game ‘‘ahead’’ of the Bucks in the battle for the No. 9 spot in the lottery standings. The Bucks beat the Nets 125-108.
Shutdown time
Not only did the Bulls announce that guard Josh Giddey (hamstring) was done for the season, but Donovan said he wouldn’t be alone.
Center Nick Richards (elbow), g
