Speaking on Thursday to reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Bulls guard Zach LaVine said he had originally hoped to return to action on Wednesday or Friday, but his injured foot didn’t respond well when he attempted to ramp up his work, so he and the team decided to take a more cautious approach. The Bulls ruled out LaVine for an additional three or four weeks and he received a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection.
“I’ve been trying to train and do active rehab to get back out there. That didn’t work,” LaVine said. “It had a little bit of a—I don’t want to say setback—but it got more sore to where it didn’t make sense to try to play on it continuously. Rest for a little bit. Get some PRP. Hopefully that will do some good things for it. Continue to promote that healing and check back in a week or two and see where you’re at.”
LaVine added that his absence has “nothing to do” with the trade speculation swirling around him and that he’s been happy to see the team string together some wins without him. He’s hoping that success continues and that he’s able to contribute to it once he returns.
“Am I still a part of this team and very committed? Yeah. I got a Bulls jersey on. I committed here. And for as long as I’ll be here, I’ll still support and love Chicago and go out there and play my heart out for those guys. That’s never going to change,” he said. “There’s going to be different stories and narratives. And there’s going to be off-the-court stuff that’s going to be dealt with. For me, as long as I’m here with a Bulls jersey on, I’m going to play as hard as I can for my teammates and continue to be the best player and teammate I can be. Simple as that.”
Here’s more on the suddenly surging Bulls:
- The Bulls won a fourth consecutive game on Friday night, defeating the Spurs in San Antonio, but Alex Caruso left the game in the fourth quarter due to a left ankle injury and didn’t return, Johnson notes for NBC Sports Chicago. The severity of that injury is to be determined, but Caruso had to be helped to the locker room by the team’s training staff.
- Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic takes a look at some of the young players who are getting more opportunities with LaVine sidelined, including guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.
- Despite the Bulls’ four-game winning streak since LaVine went down, no one in the locker room is suggesting the team is better without the two-time All-Star, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s hard to replace the talent that Zach has out there on the court with one person,” Caruso said. “We’ve done a good job of playing-by-committee. It’s also a different look when (LaVine’s) not out there compared to when he is, but I’ve played in plenty of games with him now, nearly two-and-a-half years, and when he’s locked in and playing good we’re a really good basketball team.”
- In a separate story for the Chicago Sun-Times, Cowley examines how White has responded to outside criticism – including from Cowley himself – and has continued to make major strides, proving those critics wrong. “I know what you said, others have said,” White told the Sun-Times. “I feel like I’ve got thick skin, but the main thing for me is I wanted to pay attention to it just so I can feel it. Feel it for me, and then to get through it. … You know what, sometimes people on the internet or the media, you guys, you speak the truth. There were times I would look at it and say, ‘I got to get better at this, he’s right. I’ve got to fix this.’ I never tried to shy away from any of it because that’s not my personality. You have to look at it all head on, take it for what it is, not let it define you, but use it.”
Teammates are not going to come out and bash LaVine but it is clear the team is playing better without him
If and when LaVine comes back the Bulks should consider using him as the sixth man in the rotation until traded.
That trade return is not going to be much I think
Yeah I wonder if you can actually see their noses getting bigger when they’re telling those lies. It’s obvious to everyone except Bulls Management that LaVine. DDR and Vujevic is not a winning combination. At least not without Lonzo. Facts are facts. The Bulls have won 4 straight without LaVine and it’s also obvious that Donovan has no idea who to play with who to make it a better team and well, Isn’t that HIS FREAKIN JOB?
Coby White has shined the brightest with LaVine injured and Ayo is starting to show signs.
I wrote a few years back the Bulls should have traded LaVine before his extension but he is now a negative value in my opinion.
Can LaVine score?
Yes, but that is all he can do!
His defense is weak as can be and he has no leadership skills, so play him as the sixth man and keep the core together from this point on and hope the Bulls can unload him in the offseason.
I said the Bulls also should of traded LaVine at the deadline when he was last making 18 million a year. I got vilified and called stupid. So who’s stupid now? All the Lavine lovers are cowering for cover and they never should have given him an extension. Should have taken whatever they could of gotten for him ate deadline before the extension. I know the Kings would have given the farm for him and the 18 million for 3 years he got from the Bulls was a match to the Kings offer as a RFA. The only way to get rid of him now is take on more bad contracts.
If Chicago gets out Lavine’s contract that will be a step in the right direction. Fournier and Quickley from the Knicks for DeRozan and couple of seconds. Drummond to Phx for Nassir.
Lol, no thanks from a Knicks perspective. Fournier and a 1st makes more sense.
I like this trade proposal …..
link to si.com
Dumb is not understanding how trades work in the NBA. Yet propose them ….
The New York Knicks are involved in one such hypothetical deal, obtaining Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan for Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride, a 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected, from Milwaukee)) and a 2024 second-round pick (from Detroit).
Only I’ve been doing it since last yr.
DeM DeR >>>> to Knickerbockers ….
Quickley. Grimes, Fournier. Two 2nd rd picks
To >>>> Bulls ……
Massive, dumb overpay.
Knicks wouldn’t include quickly but I could see demar for Fournier and grimes
The Bulls best move right now is to let LaVine get healthy, and keep him. He is still young, and has three years left on his deal. They can move him after the season if need be, and give him time to restore his trade value.
Alex Caruso was helped off the floor by his teammates. We keep reading about all this trade value Caruso has. Good player, but he is always hurt. Is he now hurt to a point where he cannot be traded???
Trade DeRozan because you have no reason whatsoever to extend him.
Bulls also have to keep Patrick Williams and Coby White. Draft picks who have very little trade value. Utilize this lost season to make a final decision on extend or dump. I wouldn’t offer them extensions. Easy way to way overpay. Let them see what the market offers them, and then decide what they are worth.
Uh, Coby is already extended. PWill is going to get the QO and RFA’d, they will match what the market offers. But, yeah, that has been the plan all along, White is now on a team friendly 3 year extension and Wilkiams will also be cheap so now they have to obtain some other players on the same timeline via trades for the vets.
Its so ‘Bulls’ that, according to a few people, Caruso is likely their biggest trade chip, and he gets hurt, and the Bulls cannot trade him (or are unlikely too if he is hurt). As for Lavine, likely the real reason he is ‘hurt’ is that he does not want to have to leave a team where he can act like a prima donna with little, if no, accountability.The Bulls 4 game winning streak is a red herring, and is unfortunate in the sense it gives management an out to say ‘Well we cannot make trades as the team is playing better now’ Just doing well enough to leave the status quo.
Kudos to Colby White. I’ve been one of his biggest supporters and one of his biggest critics.
His growth this season has become obvious. He will never be a consistently great PG that makes others around him better with his floor vision amd passing skills. That’s just not his game. Colby can however score in bunches, handle the ball, and he’s capable of working off the ball and getting open looks. He’s a capable passer, but nothing special. He can also penetrate and then make plays for others, or work in the pick n roll. He’s gotten significantly better this season and he’s putting all that work he put in on full display for the entire world to witness.
Couldn’t be more happy for him, and I hope he keeps up his excellent work. He’s a stand up guy, and definitely glad he’s finally playing with more.consistency.
His name is ‘Coby’, no ‘L’…