By CJ Carlson
Zach LaVine’s Time With The Chicago Bulls Might Be Over
Zach LaVine has had a great run with the Chicago Bulls over the past few seasons. Unfortunately, despite his statistical excellence, it hasn’t equated to much team success. Still, both sides were comfortable working together in an effort to turn this franchise around. That’s changed now.
LaVine has been directly in the center of trade conversations this season with the Bulls roster clearly not being competitive right now. The way it’s constructed, chances for a championship are unbelievably low. Especially considering the unlikely return of Lonzo Ball to the court, a critical piece to the way their roster was put together. Zach LaVine even hinted that he’d be on his way out, and that he’d be taking each game as it comes to him without saying much more on the matter.
As the 2023 season trucked forward, LaVine suffered a foot injury which has caused him to miss some time. The combination of that and the recent trade rumors made many feel as though they might not see him in a Bulls jersey ever again. The timetable for his injury looked promising, because it was before the trade deadline that he’d return to action. Now that we’ve neared that timetable deadline, it’s been reported that his return will get pushed back further. As it stands, LaVine isn’t expected to be on the court again until January at the earliest. Inflammation has returned to his right foot, and another few weeks have been tacked on.
A Zach LaVine Trade Could Be Intriguing
There’s a genuine chance that we don’t see him with a Chicago jersey on ever again, but nobody in the o organization is thinking that right now. When asking Coby White about his absence, he said, “I think it’s given us a lot of confidence. Obviously, with Zach out, being the caliber of player that he is, it allows for more opportunity. But you can’t replace Zach LaVine. For us, we just try to do it as a collective to make up for what he does on the floor.” White and the rest of the Bulls team has now won three straight games without Zach out there, something else that’s worth monitoring moving forward.
The trade rumors are heating up around him, and it would be a tall order for another team to take on his contract if they even had interest. LaVine signed a five-year, $215.16 million extension at the end of the 2021 NBA campaign. That’s an awful lot of money for another team to be willing to take on, and even worse now that he could be injured in the middle of trade discussions.
