Chicago Bulls 2024-25 season preview: Zach LaVine remains, leaving franchise in limbo

(Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We’re breaking down the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

2023-24 finish

Offseason moves

Additions: Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith, Chris Duarte, Matas Buzelis

Subtractions: DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, Javonte Green

Complete roster

The Big Question: When will the Zach LaVine era end?

Zach LaVine is on the trade market and really has been since he signed his five-year, $215 million contract extension in 2022. He has three years left on that deal, including this season, when he is owed 30% of the team’s salary cap. The Bulls have one playoff win to show for it — not a series but a single game.

Except, nobody wants to pay all that money for someone who has never meaningfully contributed to winning NBA basketball. Not at any price the Bulls want in return. More likely, they would have to attach assets to LaVine’s contract in order to move him, and they have lost enough draft picks to bad trades.

Do not get me wrong: LaVine is a talented player. He made back-to-back All-Star appearances, averaging a 26-5-5 on 49/40/85 shooting splits during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He is a pure scorer. He also does not create well for others or play sound defense. He is a shot-maker who likes to take a lot of shots.

It does not help that the 29-year-old is coming off season-ending surgery to his right foot, and his left knee has twice been surgically repaired. He has missed a third of his games over the past eight seasons.

Some team (the Los Angeles Lakers?) might get desperate for LaVine’s shooting. It has not happened yet. It best happen by the trade deadline, because Chicago cannot move forward as a franchise until it does.

Gone is DeMar DeRozan. Gone is Alex Caruso. Gone is the facade that the Bulls are trying to win. Nikola Vučević remains. His contract is not easily traded, either. They acquired Josh Giddey to give a 21-year-old the keys to the offense. Coby White is the first lottery pick they have developed since Derrick Rose. He is a keeper, and they hope this year’s…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-11 15:24:50

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