The Bulls acquired Zach LaVine in a June trade despite a torn left ACL he suffered last February, putting his 2017/18 debut on hold. The two-time dunk contest champion is currently rehabbing and Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, that LaVine’s recovery is on schedule.
“Zach is coming along great,” Hoiberg said Thursday. “He’s been really good, very vocal with our players. He’s ahead of schedule. He’s cleared to do more movement. He’s not cleared for contact yet, but he’s moving around in unpredictable movements now, which is important.”
LaVine, still just 22 years old, could become an important piece of the Bulls’ future. Before the season-ending injury last season, LaVine was enjoying his best year to date, averaging 18.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG in 48 games. If he recovers from knee surgery — which has been known to zap players’ explosiveness — without issue, LaVine eventually re-signing with Chicago would be a question of when, not if, Johnson writes in a separate article.
Check out other news surrounding the Bulls below:
- Denzel Valentine will not the Bulls’ backup point guard, Hoiberg told reporters, including Johnson (via Twitter).
- In a separate tweet, Johnson notes that the Bulls are expected to use a 10-man rotation. Johnson adds that the injured Paul Zipser, who has been dealing with a back ailment, will likely start in Thursday’s season opener.
- Ryan Arcidiacono is the expected backup point guard for the Bulls in the season opener, per Johnson. The Bulls reporter adds that 45 days of NBA service on two-way deals does not start until Oct. 23., allowing the Bulls to keep Arcidiacono on the roster a while longer.
Da Bulls are-a hurtin !!
When healthy, Dunn, LaVine, Holliday, Markkanen, and Lopez…with a main bench of Mirotic, Grant, Zipser, Valentine, Portis, and Felicio…
Obviously, I’m in the minority, but when they get a top pick next draft, and add in a couple more pieces through free agency the Bulls could start to be fairly competitive in the East again…
I think it might take until the ’19-’20 season, but they could get this rebuild right back on track with 2 more quality drafts and 2 efficient and successful free agency periods…That’s clearly a tall task for this front office, but it is definitely manageable, especially in the NBA East…
Next off-season, draft Porter Jr., sign a veteran PG and C, move Holliday as their 6th-7th man, and then by adding another scoring guard off the bench that would be their next step to getting near the playoffs..
Then, get another top 5-10 pick, and draft a role player in the 2nd, add your missing pieces through free agency, and they would be on their way to securing a mid seed in the East…Then, just continue building…
Right now, being a Bulls fan is a dark place, but there are some things to look forward to if they have a truly successful 2018 draft and free agency…That will be HUGE for this franchise moving forward!!
Do you re-sign Lavine in this scenario? And at what price do you say it’s not worth the risk? if he comes back and isn’t explosive, you might worry that it’s not coming back. If he comes back and is explosive, you’re paying max dollars (probably) for a guy 6 months off of a torn ACL. As Bulls fans we definitely know how fickle the ACL is.
when we first traded jimmy i was disappointed in the return but ive since come around (even tho i think we couldve gotten more). i think the future is bright. top pick next year + cap room. gonna catch a few cheap seats this year and be cheering on the timberbulls in the mean time lol
How come none of the links on the app work?
I think I’d put Valentine in the starting 5 and bring Holliday off the bench once Lavine returns. Dunn, Lavine, Valentine, Markkanen, Lopez. Always need a good scorer leading the 2nd unit