Bulls say they’re sticking with Zach LaVine — for now

The Bulls don’t have immediate plans of shopping Zach LaVine this offseason. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine is seemingly off the trading block in Chicago after months of speculation whether he’d be shipped out in what looks to be a franchise in rebuild mode. Executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas spoke to reporters on Sunday about the vision for the future of the franchise — one that will include LaVine.

“We expect Zach being fully healthy. And he is healthy. I think he can help this group next year. He’s been professional,” Karnišovas said. “Again, he’s healthy. We expect him to be with us at the start of training camp.”

However, Bulls management made it clear that just because LaVine or anyone else on the roster isn’t in trade conversations now doesn’t mean they are a long-term fix on the team.

“I don’t think there’s a perfect way of doing things in terms of sequence,” Karnišovas said about building the roster. “We prefer certain things to go first. I think sequentially it’s very hard to predict what the market is going to be. That’s why I’m saying I don’t know what’s going to happen. After the season, I said everything is on the table. We’re not going to make deals that are not going to make us better. We’re going to be patient with that. But I think we’re far away from a finished product now.”

LaVine, coming off a season when he played only 25 games due to a foot injury that required surgery, has been in trade conversations dating back to last offseason. It is not necessarily due to a lack of production for the squad. Since joining the Bulls in 2017, LaVine has averaged 24.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, and has made two All-Star teams.

Trade conversations and general discourse around LaVine as a whole stem from the fact that although he can put up numbers as a scorer, it typically does not translate into winning for his teams. From 2017-2024, Chicago has made the postseason only one time in 2022. The Bulls lost that series in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks and LaVine was the third best player on that team…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bulls-say-theyre-sticking-with-zach-lavine–for-now-003023765.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-16 00:30:23

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