Maybe it’s time to stop thinking about Zach LaVine’s trading opportunities and focus on the right complementary steps to help him extend this off-season.
Maybe it’s time to stop focusing on Zach LaVine’s mistakes and appreciate his strengths.
Maybe it’s time to stop talking about how he never made it to the playoffs and realize that his work ethic and dedication to making the right game can be part of winning basketball.
LaVine’s 39-point, 7-rebound, 4-assist performance in the Bulls’ 118-92 dismantling the Magic added to the growing evidence that his game continues to evolve. That it came one night after he focused on accepting defensive attention and delaying over scoring before hitting Magic for 24 points in the fourth quarter in Friday’s glitzy loss, showed his whole package.
You would miss LaVine when he’s gone.
“Man, he’s really special,” said Denzel Valentine.
LaVine posted his ninth game this season or 30 points or more. If the 89 percent free-throw shooter hadn’t unusually missed three out of five, he would have won his second 40-point game.
But scoring is what LaVine has always done, which makes it look effortless at times. That he has an average of 5.3 assists, well above his best from his previous career of 4.5, is indicative of his maturity and recognition.
However, that dynamic can also cut the other way. With his post-game comments to reporters on Friday, LaVine essentially warned the Magic that he would come out more aggressively on Saturday night. With Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr. all-out due to injuries, he scored 11 points in the first quarter and 22 at halftime.
“He does something new every night that I just sit there,” damn it. “He’s really, really good,” said Valentine. “He is definitely an All-Star, superstar-esque player. So I am blessed to be his teammate. And he’s a good guy too. So you’re looking for him. ”
LaVine’s teammates see his care factor. Those who were with him in Minnesota saw him recover from a torn left ACL without complaints and with a special focus. Those with him now see a player looking inward to try to correct his shortcomings – careless turnover, off-the-ball defense – because he’s tired of losing.
He has been through trials and tribulations throughout his career. I’m going to Minnesota and then come here, get out of an ACL and get thrown into the fire like, ‘Okay, the Chicago Bulls are yours.’ Trying to be the best player in a top three market team at the age of 23 is a lot of pressure, ”said Valentine. “I think he’s gotten better every year, and it’s great to see.”
In a recent piece in Bleacher Report, salary cap expert Eric Pincus outlined an intriguing scenario where the Bulls could use some of their expected off-season cap space to expand LaVine. The cost would be significant: approximately $ 14 million in expected cap space will be set aside for a four-year $ 151 million deal. But LaVine’s play makes such considerations intriguing.
Of course, the Bulls are under no obligation to do this, as LaVine is under contract until 2022. However, choosing a job for LaVine’s future with the franchise on Artūras Karnišovas‘to-do list almost immediately after taking the position of executive vice president of basketball operations.
As a coach, Billy Donovan’s focus is on the more micro variant for the time being. And he is happy with LaVine’s coachability and desire to become more of a player who will influence victory.
“He’s a great guy and he’s a great teammate and he wants to win. He doesn’t have it. He wants to take that step. And sometimes when you want to take that step, you think, ‘Okay, maybe I should get my teammates more involved. So let me try to facilitate. Okay, it’s not going well. Now I have to score, ” said Donovan. “He has to play for an identity of what our team needs from him, and he has to be a two-way player.
“And I agree it’s a lot of him to do, and he’s got incredible stamina and stamina. But winning makes the rules, not me. The game sets the rules. It’s hard to win … He’s really trying to figure those things out. And he also wants to be a good teammate. He wants to be a selfless player. He wants to make the people around him better. “
It happens.
Answering questions about his Zoom call on Saturday night, LaVine chuckled when asked if his aggressive demeanor is what the Bulls need in the face of so many injuries.
“I did this,” he said.
And he would have to stay in a Bulls uniform for years to come. Or he will be missed.
Click here to subscribe to the Bulls Talk Podcast for free.
To download
Download MyTeams today!
