Zach LaVine

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Williams, Markkanen, Simonovic

May 18th, 2021 at 1:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

The bold moves that the Bulls made at the trade deadline didn’t get them into the playoffs, but star guard Zach LaVine is encouraged by the direction of the franchise, writes Jamal Collier of The Chicago Tribune. Chicago shook up its roster in late March, including a blockbuster trade to acquire All-Star center Nikola Vucevic from Orlando. The organization is hoping LaVine and Vucevic will be the foundation of the team for years to come.

LaVine is eligible for an extension next season or he could opt for free agency in 2022. Either way, it appears he wants to remain with the franchise.

“Obviously with the trade, it made us a lot better, and I loved it,” LaVine said. “I love it here in Chicago. And I think everybody understands the business of basketball and anything can happen, but I let that stuff handle when it comes by. I don’t think too far into the future about it. I don’t stress about it either. I try to let my game do the talking for me, but also try to worry about the things I haven’t accomplished yet, like winning. This year was great, but also frustrating at the same time.”

There’s more from Chicago:

LaVine is already looking ahead to next season and is planning offseason workouts with some of his teammates, according to Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. He has invited rookie forward Patrick Williams, who is planning to play in the Summer League, and second-year guard Coby White. “I think that’s a good bonding and team exercise for us, especially in the offseason,” LaVine said. “You’re away from your guys, and everybody needs time away, but once you start ramping back up these are the dudes you’re going to be in battle with. I want to help them just like other players helped me when I was younger going out there and working out.”
In his comments to the media on Monday, executive VP of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas stressed that the Bulls’ front office will remain aggressive going forward in its efforts to improve the roster, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays. “We will not settle for mediocrity here,” Karnišovas said. “We’re going to add talent to our roster and from there get better and come back improved and better so we don’t have to sit out another postseason.”
Coach Billy Donovan and Karnišovas are expressing support for Lauri Markkanen, but their public comments don’t mean they’ll make a strong effort to keep him when he hits restricted free agency this summer, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Karnišovas called Markkanen “an essential part of our team” after a disappointing season that saw him lose his starting job.
Karnišovas said draft-and-stash prospect Marko Simonovic is in the team’s plans for the future and will be evaluated further after his season ends, Schaefer tweets. A second-round pick in 2020, the 21-year-old center played in Serbia this year.

Bulls Notes: Vucevic, LaVine, Young, Temple

May 17th, 2021 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

In his end-of-season comments following the Bulls‘ regular season finale on Sunday, head coach Billy Donovan admitted that he was disappointed his team didn’t make the playoffs. However, he doesn’t believe it’s fair to conclude that the midseason trade bringing Nikola Vucevic to Chicago was a mistake, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com writes.

“The one thing that I’ve seen – and I haven’t been in the NBA that long – when you look at these trades, most of the trades are trades to add. Guys coming off the bench or filling a hole. But this was a trade where immediately a guy comes in and now he’s unequivocally 1A or 1B,” Donovan said. “Those things don’t normally happen in the NBA. The whole entire thing got kind of flipped upside down.”

Donovan, who pointed out that the Bulls didn’t have much in-season practice time to properly assimilate Vucevic and the club’s other newcomers, expressed that he believes the trade will pay off in the long run. That was an opinion that Vucevic shared, as K.C. Johnson of NBA Sports Chicago tweets.

“This trade wasn’t just made for this year,” Vucevic said. “It was made for the future of the franchise.”

Here are a few more Bulls-related notes as the team looks ahead to an eventful offseason:

As he prepares to enter a contract year, Zach LaVine said today that he loves being in Chicago and is very excited about the team’s future, according to K.C. Johnson (Twitter links). Asked about his next contract, LaVine replied, “It’s a business at the end of the day. I definitely want what I deserve.”
A recent report suggested LaVine may be willing to sign for less than his maximum salary, but there are several factors that affect what LaVine’s “max” will be at a given time between now and the summer of 2022. Those factors include whether he signs an extension or waits for free agency, whether he earns All-NBA honors this year or next, and – if he signs an extension – whether the Bulls are willing to renegotiate his current deal to give him an immediate raise. It’s possible LaVine would be willing to take a slight discount in some of those scenarios, but not in others.
Thaddeus Young, who has a $6MM partial guarantee on his $14.2MM salary for 2021/22, said today that he hasn’t been told whether or not he’ll be retained, but added that he’s fully committed to the Bulls and that he has had only positive discussions with management and the coaching staff (Twitter link via Johnson).
An unrestricted free agent this summer, Garrett Temple reiterated his interest in sticking with the Bulls, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “I can never say what’s going to happen in free agency. I can only say what I would like to happen,” Temple said. “I really enjoyed Chicago. Even with the snow. Even during a pandemic. The organization, from what I’m hearing, took a turn for the better.”

Central Notes: Holiday, LaVine, Hartenstein, Pistons

May 13th, 2021 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Defensive Player of the Year conversation this season has primarily revolved around candidates like Rudy Gobert and Ben Simmons, but Bucks guard Jrue Holiday believes he should be in that discussion. In fact, that’s an opinion he holds year in and year out, as he tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

“Man, I feel like I’m the Defensive Player of the Year every year,” Holiday said. “I’m not joking about that. And I know this is my opinion, and other people have different opinions and they’ll probably think I’m crazy. But I think what I bring defensively on the court, a lot of people don’t really do, to be completely honest.”

As Holiday points out, it’s rare for a guard to receive serious consideration for Defensive Player of the Year honors. The last time a backcourt player won the award was in 1996, when Gary Payton was named DPOY. But Holiday feels that his own performance and versatility on the defensive end of the court shouldn’t be overlooked.

“I think to be able to guard some of these guards night in and night out, every single night, and be able to move laterally, moving your feet, fighting over screens, fighting under screens, guarding them one-on-one 30 feet away from the basket,” Holiday told Haynes. “And there were a couple of years where I was blocking a lot of shots for a guard. So I even protected the rim myself. And then at that, I’m guarding positions one through four, and sometimes five. Defensively, I’ve pretty much done it all. That’s why I think I should be in the conversation every year.”

Here are a few more items from around the Central:

While there has been a belief that Zach LaVine will look to maximize his earnings on his next contract, several sources who spoke to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times believe LaVine could be persuaded to take a slight discount if the Bulls continue adding quality players around him. Still, a standard extension for LaVine could only be worth up to about $105MM over four years, so he seems unlikely to accept such a deal — Chicago could offer him significantly more in a renegotiation or once he reaches free agency.
Cavaliers big man Isaiah Hartenstein, who holds a minimum-salary player option for 2021/22, said he’d like to remain in Cleveland, but hinted that he’s leaning toward opting out in the hopes of signing a new deal. “So far everything has been good,” Hartenstein said of his time with the Cavs, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Can’t really say what’s going to happen in the future, but I hope we can renegotiate something this summer and I can grow with the young guys. I think that would be a good experience.”
In a mailbag for The Detroit News, Rod Beard says that he expects the Pistons to try to re-sign Frank Jackson in free agency, advocates for giving Sekou Doumbouya more time to develop, and addresses a few other Pistons-related topics.

Crowded All-NBA Field Will Impact Several Contract Situations

May 11th, 2021 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

When Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer shared his early All-NBA picks this week, he rightly pointed out that limiting the field to 15 players will leave a number of worthy candidates on the outside looking in. O’Connor had to exclude worthy contenders such as Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Jaylen Brown, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, Jrue Holiday, and Kyrie Irving from his three All-NBA teams.

Among the other players left off the top 15 by O’Connor were Donovan Mitchell, Zach LaVine, Bam Adebayo, and De’Aaron Fox. Those players are especially notable because an All-NBA spot this season would either substantially increase the value of the contract extensions they signed last offseason or would put them in line for a significantly more lucrative extension this summer.

Jayson Tatum, who earned a spot on O’Connor’s All-NBA Third Team, is in the same boat. Like Mitchell, Adebayo, and Fox, he signed a rookie scale extension that includes Rose Rule language, which could bump his starting salary from 25% of the cap to 30% of the cap.

Here are how those players, who signed five-year, maximum-salary contract extensions last offseason, will be affected by whether or not they earn All-NBA honors. These are projected values based on a 3% salary cap increase.

Player	No All-NBA	All-NBA
Donovan Mitchell	$163,000,590	$195,600,710
Jayson Tatum	$163,000,590	$195,600,710
Bam Adebayo	$163,000,590	$185,820,675 (First Team only)
De’Aaron Fox	$163,000,590	$169,522,180 (Third Team) *

* Fox’s deal would be worth $182,560,660 if he makes the All-NBA Second Team and $195,600,710 if he makes the First Team.

Fox probably has no chance at making an All-NBA team, given the competition at guard and the Kings’ spot in the standings. The other three players here have better cases, but Adebayo is likely a long shot, making Mitchell and Tatum the most realistic candidates. They’d only need to sneak onto the Third Team to increase the projected value of their new five-year deals by more than $32MM.

As O’Connor writes, Tatum has a clearer path to an All-NBA spot than Mitchell based on his position. The guard spot is absolutely stacked this season — Mitchell would have to beat out at least one of Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, and James Harden, as well as all the guards mentioned at the top of this story. As good as he’s been, he may be left out.

While Tatum, Mitchell, Adebayo, and Fox have already negotiated “super-max” language into their contracts and are now trying to guarantee a salary increase by earning All-NBA honors, a handful of players will become eligible for a higher maximum salary on a new extension if they make an All-NBA team this year. An All-NBA spot would either make them eligible for a Rose Rule extension or a Designated Veteran Extension.

Here are those players, along with the projected contract extension they’d become eligible for with an All-NBA nod. These projections are on the conservative side, since they’re based on annual salary cap increases of just 3%.

Player	Max extension with All-NBA spot	Year it would begin
Nikola Jokic	Five years, $242,098,25	2023/24 *
Joel Embiid	Four years, $187,000,032	2023/24
Zach LaVine	Five years, $235,046,855	2022/23
Luka Doncic	Five years, $201,468,730	2022/23

* Jokic would have to wait until the 2022 offseason to sign a super-max extension. The others could sign extensions during the 2021 offseason.

Embiid is still under contract for two more years beyond 2020/21, which is why he’d only be able to tack on four new years to his current deal instead of five. Jokic is in a similar spot, but because he’ll only have six years of NBA service at the end of this season, he’d have to wait until 2022 to officially sign an extension, at which point he’d be eligible for five new years instead of just four.

Doncic’s potential extension has the lowest average value of any of these hypothetical deals because he’d only be eligible for a starting salary worth 30% of the cap, instead of 35%, due to his limited years of NBA service.

MVP candidates Jokic, Embiid, and Doncic all look like pretty safe bets to make an All-NBA team this spring, and I imagine the Nuggets, Sixers, and Mavericks will be ready to put super-max extension offers on the table for their respective stars as soon as they’re eligible to sign them.

As for LaVine, he likely won’t make an All-NBA team, which may be a relief for the Bulls — deciding whether or not to offer LaVine a standard maximum contract could be a difficult decision in its own right. If he were eligible for a super-max, that would make negotiations even more challenging.

Assuming LaVine doesn’t earn All-NBA honors, he’d only be eligible for a four-year, $104.83MM extension this offseason. However, the Bulls could go higher than that if they renegotiate his 2021/22 salary using their cap room, or if they wait until the 2022 offseason — as a free agent, LaVine would be eligible for a five-year contract worth up to $201.47MM (projection based on 3% annual cap increases) if he re-signs with Chicago, even without All-NBA honors.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Pacers, Love, Sexton, LaVine

May 7th, 2021 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed on Thursday, Jake Fischer’s latest story for Bleacher Report features a number of eyebrow-raising details on Nate Bjorkgren‘s stint as the Pacers‘ head coach. However, while much of Fischer’s reporting lines up with what we’ve heard from other outlets, there has been some push-back on some aspects of the story.

For instance, Fischer initially suggested that T.J. Warren – who played under Bjorkgren in Phoenix – wasn’t consulted before Indiana made the hire and that Warren requested a trade after Bjorkgren came aboard. Fischer has since cited a source close to the situation who says Warren never formally requested a trade, and the story has been updated to say that there’s “a belief among several members of the Pacers organization” that Warren asked to be dealt.

J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star, meanwhile, tweets that the front office did ask Warren about Bjorkgren before hiring him and notes that Warren agreed to take a bigger leadership role with the team heading into the season.

Fischer also reported in his story that Bjorkgren’s acted like “a politician’s chief of staff” in Toronto when he was a Raptors assistant under Nick Nurse, sometimes preventing players and other coaches from holding conversations with Nurse if they didn’t go through him first. Asked on Thursday night about that, Nurse vehemently denied it and questioned the reporting, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Attaching an asset to trade Kevin Love isn’t something the Cavaliers want to do, and buying him out with two years and $60MM left on his contract would be difficult and pricey, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com contends the team should attempt this offseason to find the least painful way to move on from Love. Sources tell Fedor that the two sides have yet to discuss a potential buyout.
While Jason Lloyd of The Athletic believes the Cavaliers did well to nab Collin Sexton with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 draft, he doesn’t believe the third-year guard is worth a maximum-salary contract and suggests the team would be making a big mistake if it goes that high this offseason when Sexton becomes extension-eligible for the first time.
Zach LaVine, who returned to the Bulls‘ lineup on Thursday night after missing 11 games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, told reporters this week that he had taken one of his two vaccine shots when he was diagnosed with COVID-19, and didn’t experience any major symptoms (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).

Zach LaVine Set To Return On Thursday

May 5th, 2021 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

Bulls guard Zach LaVine will return to action on Thursday after missing the team’s last 11 games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). LaVine had cleared the protocols this week and was targeting Thursday’s game in Charlotte for his return.

Following LaVine’s most recent appearance on April 14, Chicago was clinging to the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference at 22-32. Since then, however, the red-hot Wizards have surpassed the Bulls, as have the up-and-down Raptors. Having lost seven of 11 games without LaVine, Chicago is now in 12th place, a full four games back of the No. 10 Wizards.

In other words, with just seven games left in the Bulls’ season, LaVine’s return will probably come too late to make a real impact on the team’s playoff hopes — especially if it takes him some time to get back up to full speed following what was reportedly a case of COVID-19.

Still, the 26-year-old will be looking to finish strong as he concludes the best season of his seven-year career. An All-Star for the first time in 2021, LaVine is averaging career-high marks in points per game (27.5), assists per game (5.1), and rebounds per game (5.1), with a career-best .506/.416/.848 shooting line in 53 games (35.2 MPG).

Central Notes: LaVine, Sexton, Pacers Defense, Green

May 4th, 2021 at 5:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine has cleared the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and could be back on the floor as early as Thursday against the Hornets, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.

“I think he’s excited to be back playing,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of the All-Star guard. “I think for him getting in the gym [upon being cleared] was good.”

LaVine’s return may prove to be too little, too late for the struggling Bulls. Chicago has gone 4-7 without him. Sporting a 26-39 record, the Bulls are currently 4.5 games behind the ninth-seeded Pacers, four games behind the tenth-seeded Wizards and a half-game back of the No. 11-seeded Raptors. The team has eight contests left to play.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton is aware of critical chirps from his detractors, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Fedor notes that Sexton wants to address his critics with his play. “They feel like I’m not doing good at something, I’m going to make sure I prove them wrong,” Sexton said. “They say I can’t be a point guard. Now these next stretch of games I’m going to go out there and show them I can do both — run the team and score the ball as well, and be efficient with it. I pretty much just take the criticism and run with it, and just have them look crazy down the stretch.”
The defensively-challenged Pacers are certainly missing their anchor on that end of the floor, injured center Myles Turner, but also the tactical maneuvering of former head coach Nate McMillan and assistant coach Dan Burke, opines Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.
Recently-acquired Bulls wing Javonte Green showed flashes of promise in what was ultimately a 106-94 losing effort against the Sixers on Monday. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic wonders if Green could be a potential long-term rotational addition for Chicago.

Central Notes: Tucker, Grant, Doumbouya, LaVine, Pacers

May 1st, 2021 at 12:05pm CST by marksuleymanov

After P.J. Tucker requested a trade for months from the rebuilding Rockets, the veteran big man ended up with the Bucks, an Eastern Conference powerhouse in recent seasons. However, despite leading the league in wins two years in a row and getting back-to-back MVP seasons from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee has endured multiple disappointing playoff exits.

As Milwaukee prepares for another postseason, and hopefully a deeper run, Tucker spoke about his role with the team as it aims for a championship. The 35-year-old has been limited to 12 games off the bench for the Bucks after some injury woes, but he tells Sports Illustrated’s Rohan Nadkarni that the team has been clear about his role.

“Yeah, definitely. Coach Bud (Mike Budenholzer) is super transparent,” Tucker said. “And I’m at the point in my career where I know why I’m here. I’ve lived through every situation possible. It’s not rocket science. They don’t want me to do nothing I don’t do. What happened last year, and how they lost the couple years, winning so many games in the regular season, not getting as far as they should have, they are looking for different lineups that can help win games. For me, it’s about bringing all the intangible stuff that they need.”

The rest of the interview is worth a read, as Tucker also talks about his long career, trade from Houston and his time alongside Antetokounmpo.

Check out more Central Division notes:

Jerami Grant raised some eyebrows when he decided to depart from the Nuggets fresh off a deep run into the postseason and join the rebuilding Pistons. However, Grant says he has zero regrets about that decision, NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes. “Between me and (GM) Troy (Weaver), there’s a lot of trust. Between me and this organization, there’s a lot of trust,” said Grant. “There’s a lot of trust. I’m happy with my decision. I wouldn’t change. I’d go back and do the same thing over and over.”
One pleasant surprise for the Pistons this season has been the play of Sekou Doumbouya, who has shown flashes of brilliance in 49 games off the bench. As the season winds down, Detroit hopes the 20-year-old can finish strong, Langlois writes in a separate story. “Sekou is one of our best talkers,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s been in the system. He understands it. I see the carryover from last year to this year and he’s out there explaining to guys. That’s good to see, also.”
At 29-33, the Pacers have endured a frustrating season that has only been exasperated by all their opening night starters currently being sidelined, Scott Agness of The Fieldhouse Files writes (subscription required).
Bulls guard Zach LaVine joined his teammates on the bench on Friday, marking his first big step in returning to the club. He has missed Chicago’s nine games due to being in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and while he has cleared quarantine, it remains to be seen when he’ll be back on the court, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes.

Injury Notes: Porzingis, Davis, LaVine, Herro, Mitchell, Warren

April 24th, 2021 at 6:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis will sit out tonight’s game with the Lakers, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Porzingis sprained his left ankle in Thursday’s win over L.A., and even though the injury isn’t considered to be a long-term issue, Dallas is being careful with Porzingis.

“We believe (the ankle sprain) is not serious,” coach Rick Carlisle said, “but the decision for him to sit tonight was not a close call.” (Twitter link)

There’s more injury news from around the league:

The Lakers will have Anthony Davis on a 25-minute restriction for tonight’s game, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Davis played 17 minutes Thursday as he returned to the court for the first time in nine weeks and felt “minimal soreness,” said coach Frank Vogel. The Lakers plan to use Davis in both halves tonight.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine won’t be available for the rest of the team’s road trip, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. That will include games tonight and Monday in Miami and Wednesday at New York. LaVine has been in the league’s health and safety protocols for the past 10 days, and coach Billy Donovan said the All-Star guard is still under quarantine.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra refused to comment on whether Tyler Herro aggravated his foot injury in Friday’s loss to the Hawks, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Herro, who won’t be active tonight, had sat out the prior two games before playing against Atlanta.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell had his sprained ankle re-evaluated Friday, tweets Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Mitchell is making progress, but will miss at least one more week.
Pacers forward T.J. Warren, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, has rejoined the team, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link), who adds that Warren is no longer wearing a walking boot.

Zach LaVine Enters Protocols, Expected To Miss Multiple Games

April 16th, 2021 at 7:00am CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 16: LaVine entered the health and safety protocols after registering a positive coronavirus test, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Assuming it wasn’t a false positive, that means the All-Star guard will likely miss at least a couple weeks or so.

APRIL 15: Bulls star Zach LaVine is expected to miss several games after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Wojnarowski’s report comes on the heels of the Bulls’ PR department announcing that the team had to call off Thursday’s practice due to the protocols, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Since there’s an expectation that LaVine will miss multiple games, it sounds like he either came into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or registered a positive test himself.

It’s bad timing for the Bulls, who have lost four consecutive games – and 10 of their last 13 – as they attempt to hang onto a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. The 22-32 club holds the No. 10 seed for now, but is just one game ahead of the Raptors and Wizards, and two games ahead of the Cavaliers.

Assuming they’re not affected by the protocols, Tomas Satoransky, Coby White, Garrett Temple, and Denzel Valentine are among the players who could see a bump in minutes with LaVine unavailable.

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