East Notes: Wizards, Bradley Beal, Bulls, Trade Rumors, Bucks

Wizards

• Star shooting guard Bradley Beal has been cleared to resume on-court activities following a hamstring injury, the Wizards announced. Beal was ruled out Monday, though, meaning he will have missed four straight games.
• Per the Wizards, once Beal begins practicing “his status moving forward will be determined by his clinical evolution.”
• Beal re-upped with the Wizards on a five-year deal over the summer and has compiled averages of 22.9 points and 5.4 assists, shooting 52 percent from the field.
• In case you missed it, Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is drawing interest from the Hawks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. But it appears the Wizards are not looking to make a Kuzma move for the time being. He reportedly has also drawn interest from the Suns and Kings.

Bulls

The Bulls are one team that is being monitored throughout the NBA as a team that may be looking to make a move, given their struggle through the first part of the season.

“Everyone is watching Chicago very closely,” an NBA source told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. “They’re so poorly constructed, they need to blow it up.”

• Pincus cited the Lakers as one team that could pursue a deal for Bulls guard/forward DeMar DeRozan and center Nikola Vucevic, with the Lakers potentially offering buyout candidate and point guard Russell Westbrook, as well as their 2027 and ’29 first-round picks.
• But one league source who spoke to Hoops Wire laughed off that rumor (which Pincus was only citing) as “very clearly coming from someone in the Lakers’ camp.”

Bucks

• In case you missed it, forward Joe Ingles (ACL) appears to be closing in on his debut with the Bucks, according to coach Mike Budenholzer. We have that full post here.
• Also, Budenholzer indicated he didn’t believe the ankle injury suffered by forward Khris Middleton in Sunday’s loss to the Rockets was serious. Middleton has played in just four games this season following offseason wrist surgery.
• Finally, the Bucks have been trying to land Suns forward Jae Crowder in a three-team trade with the Rockets. We have that full post here.