Zach LaVine Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Mathurin, Gibson, Pistons Guards, Bulls

March 10th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Losing Pacers reserve shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin for the year will have an intriguing ripple effect on the team’s bench as it prepares for the postseason, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

As Dopirak notes, Indiana is now without two of its top-scoring reserves from the start of the season, between Mathurin and Buddy Hield, who was dealt to the Sixers at the trade deadline. Forward Doug McDermott, the Pacers’ own sharpshooting acquisition added at the deadline, continues to rehabilitate his right calf strain, though he’ll be a big part of the bench when he does play. Rookies Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker seem likely to get significantly more responsibility as the season winds down.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Workaholic new Pistons veteran power forward Taj Gibson, 38, is over a decade older than most of his new teammates. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes that the 10-53 club appreciates Gibson’s daily grind, even in his 15th NBA season, and hopes that he can inspire the Pistons’ young, talented lottery pick core. Gibson is on a 10-day deal, so there’s no guarantee he’ll remain with in Detroit for the rest of the season.
The Pistons’ decision to, at last, stagger young guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey so that one of them remained on the floor at all times seemed to work wonders on Thursday in a 118-112 win over the Nets, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Head coach Monty Williams opted to employ a lineup of Cunningham alongside his second unit in the third quarter that really helped the club hold serve against Brooklyn.
Young Bulls guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have each taken big leaps in their development this season, with White in particular enjoying a breakout year. A lot of their growth has happened with star shooting guard Zach LaVine, the team’s priciest player, sidelined due to injury. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic thinks the improvement of the young guards could be negatively impacted by a LaVine comeback next year, and wonders if the Chicago front office will look to offload the two-time All-Star.

Zach LaVine Talks About Recovery From Foot Surgery

March 9th, 2024 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zach LaVine hoped to avoid having surgery on his injured right foot, but an outside opinion made him realize it was necessary, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. While attending this afternoon’s game in Los Angeles, the Bulls guard made his first public comments since the February 8 operation that ended his season. LaVine said he was trying to play for months with what amounted to a floating bone in his foot.

“I was pretty much trying to figure out every way not to,” he said of having the foot operated on. “You never want to have surgery. But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, that the pain level and this thing isn’t going to heal on its own. It’s a bone that was floating around. It’s known as a non-union Jones fracture, which I was dealing with for a while. And once the doctor—I’m glad I was able to find him—told me you need to get this done sooner than later, it was good to know.”

Johnson reports that LaVine is still wearing a walking boot, but he confirmed coach Billy Donovan‘s statement that the recovery process is ahead of schedule. LaVine said the soft tissue around the tendon needs time to heal, and he hopes to be able to get rid of the boot in about three weeks. The team’s original timeline puts him out of action for four-to-six months.

“I’m just feeling a lot better. I was able to take the cast off. I’ve been walking around in the boot. That’s the main thing I have to stay in. I don’t have a lot of pain,” LaVine said. “They said everything looks good. So hopefully the next update is as good as the last one.”

LaVine managed to play 25 games this season — averaging 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 34.9 minutes per night — but he went through two extended injury absences before opting for surgery. LaVine was also the subject of trade rumors for most of the season, as the Bulls got off to a slow start and were determined to shake up their roster, starting with their highest-paid player.

LaVine’s pricey contract and concerns about his durability limited interest around the league. The Lakers were mentioned most prominently as a potential destination, but their offer wasn’t close to what the Bulls were seeking. Chicago had talks with Detroit about LaVine up to the trade deadline, and a source tells Johnson that the Bulls’ front office plans to try again this summer.

“There’s a lot of things that don’t bug me,” LaVine said of the trade speculation. “My name has been circulating around more than once from the beginning of my career to now. If I let people’s opinions bug me or influence me, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. So I go out there and keep doing me. Haven’t really talked to anybody, but we’ll continue to push forward. My main objective is to help the guys play and be myself out there. When I’m on the court, I know I make an impact most of the time offensively, but defensively as well.”

Chicago still may find it challenging to get offers for a player coming off foot surgery with three years and about $138MM left on his contract. LaVine said it won’t be difficult to return to the Bulls if a trade doesn’t happen.

“It’s not hard to fit back in, especially with the way I play the game and want to go out there and help,” he said. “You never want to be hurt, but it’s not hard to see yourself back out there.”

Injury Notes: Lonzo, LaVine, Scoot, Ayton, Middleton, Maxey

March 9th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan shared some good news on Lonzo Ball on Saturday, telling reporters – including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago – that the veteran point guard has begun more advanced rehab activities, including sprinting, cutting, and jumping. It’s a positive development, given that Donovan said last month that Ball hadn’t yet been cleared to sprint.

“Some of the workouts have been really, really positive and he has progressed,” Donovan said today. “He has responded well. Some of the things that medical guys have shown me is he looks good moving. I’m just really happy for him personally for his progress. He has worked hard to put himself in this position. And hopefully, he can continue to progress.”

Ball, who last suited up for an NBA game in January 2022, has undergone three surgeries on his left knee since then, including a cartilage transplant approximately a year ago. The next step in his recovery would be getting cleared for contact, but there’s no set timeline for him advancing to that stage, according to Donovan.

The Bulls’ head coach also provided an update on Zach LaVine, who underwent surgery on a “non-union Jones fracture” in his right foot last month. As Johnson relays, LaVine is ahead of schedule in his rehab process and is aiming to be back to full strength in three months rather than the four-to-six months initially projected. Either way, we shouldn’t expect to see the guard back in action until the fall.

Here are a few more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

A pair of injured Trail Blazers appear on track to return to action on Saturday, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter links). Scoot Henderson, out since the All-Star break due to a left adductor strain, and Deandre Ayton, who has missed the past five games due to a sprained right hand, have both been listed as probable to play vs. Toronto.
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said on Friday night that Khris Middleton (left ankle sprain) could play on Sunday for the first time since February 6, tweets Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. As Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes, Middleton has been sidelined long enough that he’ll fall short of playing in 62 games, which means he’ll miss out on earning a $1.5MM bonus in his contract.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse described Tyrese Maxey‘s concussion symptoms earlier this week as “very mild,” per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and told reporters on Friday that he was optimistic about the guard’s chances to play on Sunday in New York (Twitter link via Mizell). However, Philadelphia has officially listed Maxey as out for that game. Unless that designation changes by Sunday night, it will be the fourth consecutive game he has missed.

Lakers Rumors: LeBron, Knicks, Bronny, Murray, LaVine, More

February 14th, 2024 at 8:59pm CST by Rory Maher

At the end of last month, Lakers forward LeBron James sent out an hourglass emoji on social media that led to plenty of speculation — and eventually an unsuccessful trade pursuit by the Warriors. Later that week in New York, James made some not-so-subtle comments about his love for playing in Madison Square Garden and said he considered signing with the Knicks as a free agent in 2010.

While James may have been attempting to put pressure on L.A.’s front office by using New York as leverage, the Knicks haven’t had any internal discussions about pursuing him this summer, a league source tells Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

As The Athletic’s authors explain, the Knicks won’t have cap room in free agency to make a run at James if he declines his $51.4MM player option, and shedding salaries would mean parting with important rotation players. The Knicks view that possibility as a “serious setback to their long-term plan.”

Los Angeles, meanwhile, has no desire to trade James, and wants him to retire a Laker, multiple team sources tell The Athletic. For his part, James recently informed the team’s brass he wants to stay, per The Athletic’s report.

Here’s more on the Lakers, all from Amick, Slater and Buha:

Rival executives have become “increasingly convinced” that the 39-year-old superstar may want out of L.A., and view drafting his son Bronny James as something of a starting point to pursuing LeBron, according to The Athletic’s trio. James has spoken many times over the years about his desire to play in the NBA with his son. The Lakers are also open to the possibility of adding Bronny to keep LeBron happy, as that’s a priority for the organization, a high-ranking team source tells the authors.
According to The Athletic, James has long been in favor of adding a star-level ball-handler in the backcourt — hence 2021 trade for Russell Westbrook, which obviously worked out poorly. James pushed the front office to pursue Kyrie Irving over multiple transaction windows in the past, and supported the idea of trading for Dejounte Murray (Hawks) or Zach LaVine (Bulls) — two fellow Klutch clients — prior to this season’s deadline, sources tell Amick, Slater and Buha.
The Lakers will have three first-round picks available to trade this summer after standing pat at the deadline — either 2024 or 2025 (New Orleans can acquire this year’s pick or defer it to next year), plus 2029 and 2031. As Buha previously reported, L.A. would ideally like to use those draft assets for Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Trae Young (Hawks) or Irving (Mavericks), though it’s unclear how many of those players – if any – will actually be available on the trade market this offseason. For what it’s worth, rival teams have been speculating that Atlanta might be willing to part with Young after holding onto Murray at the deadline.

Bulls Notes: Deadline Talks, DeRozan, Caruso, LaVine

February 8th, 2024 at 7:13pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Bulls sat out the trade deadline for the third straight season, NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson observes. The Bulls spent months working on a potential Zach LaVine trade but after his season-ending injury, they began to weigh other options. The team fielded offers for Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond and had “cursory conversations” regarding DeRozan, maintaining they stayed active despite not making a move.

“We didn’t see anything that was going to make us better. We would take a step back, which we don’t want. We want to stay competitive,” general manager Artūras Karnišovas said. “We have an obligation to this organization and this fan base and this city to stay competitive and compete for the playoffs. That’s what we’re doing.”

The Warriors engaged the Bulls on talks with Caruso but in any potential deal, Chicago seemed to covet Jonathan Kuminga. When that offer was rebuffed, the Bulls told teams they didn’t want to trade Caruso, especially for a package of other young pieces like Moses Moody, according to Johnson. They would have had to be floored by an offer to move Caruso.

Drummond drew interest too, but the Bulls expressed to other teams they wished to remain competitive and potential landing spots like the Sixers and Mavericks sent their second-round draft capital elsewhere.

While there was some internal discussion about selling off pieces and reshaping the roster, upper management pushed those decisions to the offseason, Johnson writes. In the summer, it’s likely the Bulls will discuss LaVine trades again while they face decisions on the contract statuses of DeRozan and Patrick Williams. The Bulls have one open roster spot and are under the luxury tax, so they could be in the market for buyout players. We addressed Chicago’s potential interest in Joe Harris earlier Thursday.

We have more notes on the Bulls:

There was no significant offer out there for DeMar DeRozan, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, appearing on The Rally (Twitter link). There were a few interested teams but uncertainty regarding whether DeRozan would re-sign when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the offseason was an inhibiting factor in getting a deal done. According to Charania, the Bulls want to keep DeRozan “long term.”
Charania echoed Johnson and said the Bulls had a “very high price” on Caruso, which other teams weren’t willing to meet. Charania says Chicago feels like keeping this core together is its best path forward.
DeRozan expressed a desire to remain with the Bulls on Thursday, according to Johnson. “It’s kind of like with your spouse. It’s a relationship. It’s like, ‘What do we need to do to work on this, baby?’” DeRozan said, smiling. “‘Let’s figure this thing out. You want me. I want you.’ The love is there.” Karnišovas expressed a similar sentiment, Johnson tweets. “I love DeMar,” Karnišovas said. “He’s huge for this team, this city, this organization.“
LaVine underwent right foot surgery on Thursday, according to Johnson. He was previously ruled out for the rest of the season. “We’re going to miss him,” Karnišovas said. “But we’ll see him soon and wish him well his recovery.” The original recovery timeline was four-to-six months, but according to Johnson, he could be back to basketball activities in closer to three months. He would still miss the rest of the season but could begin his typical offseason work.
The bigger question regarding LaVine is his future with the organization, Johnson writes. As mentioned, the team held trade talks regarding him last offseason and before the deadline. However, Johnson’s source close to LaVine emphasizes he never specifically asked to be traded. “I don’t have any concerns,” Karnišovas said on whether he worried if failing to find a trade would impact the relationship between the two sides. “I think Zach wants to win. Bottom line, we’re a better team with Zach on the team. It’s as simple as that.“

Eastern Rumors: Cavs, LaVine, Bulls, Celtics, Grimes

February 6th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

A source with knowledge of the Cavaliers‘ plans told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic on Monday night that the club is unlikely to be active at this week’s trade deadline.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing, according to Lloyd, who notes that Cleveland’s front office could turn to the buyout market in search of a depth addition later this month. The Cavs, who have moved into possession of the No. 2 seed in the East, have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams over the last two months, winning 19 of their past 23 games, including 14 of their past 15.

Here are a few more items from around the Eastern Conference:

The Bulls could technically still trade Zach LaVine this week despite his season-ending foot injury, but teams with interest will almost certainly prefer to wait until at least this summer to see how that foot is healing, per Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks of ESPN. “We have red-flagged him until he gets back on the court,” one rival executive told ESPN.
A handful of Bulls veterans, including Nikola Vucevic, have expressed a desire for the team to roll with the pieces it has rather than buying or selling at the deadline, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “Those are things that are out of my control. We feel we have enough,” Vucevic said, adding that he likes it in Chicago and doesn’t want to go anywhere. “We have a lot of stuff we can do better on the court. We’ve also had some stuff, like injuries, that’s unfortunate to deal with. But I believe we have enough.”
Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com takes a look at how Boston will approach Thursday’s deadline, citing one source who thinks the Celtics should be careful not to “mess up what they have” and one rival executive who says the C’s aren’t being especially aggressive on the trade market. “They’re open to talking, but there’s no urgency there,” the exec said.
Given the injury bug that has plagued the team recently, the odds of the Knicks hanging onto Quentin Grimes through the trade deadline have increased, a source familiar with the situation tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). If Grimes remains on the roster for the rest of this season, he could be a trade candidate again in the summer, when he’ll be extension-eligible.

Multiple Factors Slowing Down NBA Trade Market

February 6th, 2024 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

The rumor mill was relatively quiet at the start of NBA trade deadline week on Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who suggested to colleague Bobby Marks in the latest Woj Pod podcast that teams are a bit underwhelmed by what’s available on the market.

“There’s a bit of a logjam. There’s a bit of a sense of, I would almost say, ‘Is this all there is?'” Wojnarowski said. “I think a lot of GMs who want to get better – some have the assets to do it, some don’t necessarily have as many – are looking around going, ‘I just don’t see many guys out here who move the needle for us.'”

Wojnarowski still expects a busy deadline day on Thursday, perhaps with two or three trades completed on Tuesday or Wednesday. However, he’s not convinced that many of the deals made this week will involve difference-making players, noting that there haven’t been many recent conversations about presumed trade candidates such as Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, and Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic.

“I think we’re going to have trades and pieces are going to move around,” Woj said. “… We may see a lot of player number seven through 11, seven through 12 on rosters, second-round picks, a lot of those changing hands over the next 72 hours.”

Of course, a handful of major trades have been made since the 2023/24 season began, with players like James Harden, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam on the move. Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday were traded just ahead of training camp. In addition to the fact that some of this season’s top trade candidates have already been dealt, there are several other factors contributing to the slow development of the trade market.

One of those factors, according to Wojnarowski, is the continued impact of the play-in tournament, which has given teams more avenues to qualify for the postseason and has created more buyers than sellers during the season. Of the few sellers, some have set very high asking prices for their players, particularly the ones on multiyear deals. Meanwhile, many prospective buyers don’t have the assets or the flexibility to make significant deals, with three-quarters of the tradable future first-round picks controlled by just 11 teams.

A belief that the 2024 draft class is weaker than average may also slow down the trade market. “Nobody’s excited” about this year’s draft, according to Wojnarowski, so a team may be less inclined to move a useful veteran if the return package is headlined by a ’24 draft pick.

The new rules introduced in the league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement are another wild card in play as teams seek potential deals. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the more strict salary-matching rules for teams above either tax apron appear to be creating challenges for some front offices — those teams aren’t permitted to take back more than 110% of the salaries they send out in a trade. Under the previous CBA, it was 125%.

As previously noted, several of this season’s bigger-name trade candidates are also under contract for multiple seasons, affording sellers the opportunity to be patient if they don’t get offers they like this week. Fischer points to Atlanta and Dejounte Murray as one example, suggesting the Hawks could be in a better position this offseason to land the type of first-round compensation they’re seeking for Murray, since more teams will be able to move more picks at that time. The Lakers, for instance, could move up to three future first-rounders this summer, but can only trade one this week.

The more punitive restrictions facing tax apron teams after the end of this season has also made certain clubs hesitant to take on sizable long-term contracts or to trade for a third player on a maximum-salary deal, especially if that player isn’t an All-NBA caliber talent, per Tim Bontemps and Marks at ESPN.com. That’s one reason why interest in Bulls guard Zach LaVine was so tepid even before the team announced he’d be undergoing season-ending foot surgery.

With over 48 hours to go until Thursday’s 2 pm CT deadline, there’s still time for the trade market to roar to life, but it certainly doesn’t sound like we should expect a repeat of 2023’s deadline, when stars like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving changed teams.

Trade Rumors: Wiggins, Pacers, Brogdon, Lakers, More

February 5th, 2024 at 4:59pm CST by Rory Maher

While the 21-25 Warriors have had a disappointing season to this point and are once again projected to have a record-setting payroll and luxury tax bill, ownership hasn’t given a mandate for the front office to do anything but try to improve the roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says Golden State won’t be looking to simply offload the large salaries of players like Andrew Wiggins or Chris Paul.

Charania includes Klay Thompson in that group as well, though ESPN’s Brian Windhorst previously stated the Warriors aren’t interested in moving Thompson.

Charania confirms the Mavericks are interested in Wiggins, and adds the Pacers to the list of teams intrigued by the former No. 1 overall pick. Any deal sending Wiggins to Indiana would likely have to include Buddy Hield for salary-matching purposes, though that’s just an observation, not reporting.

According to Charania, unless the Warriors are blown away by an offer, they’re unlikely to trade any of those three veterans, particularly with their values at low points for various reasons. To this point, Charania says Golden State hasn’t received an offer that “moves the needle.”

Here are some more trade rumors from around the NBA, all courtesy of Marc Stein at Substack:

Once viewed as a strong trade candidate, Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon may have swung in the opposite direction. He has publicly said he’s happy in Portland and would prefer to stay, with Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports later reporting there was skepticism Brogdon would be moved. According to Stein, there have been “recent rumblings” that Brogdon is actually hoping to sign an extension with the Blazers. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is not eligible for an in-season extension, but will become extension-eligible during the 2024 offseason, when he will make $22.5MM in the final year of his deal. Given Portland’s place in the standings and the presence of Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson, Stein wonders whether the Blazers will actually consider an extension for a 31-year-old veteran like Brogdon, but says the idea of a “longer stay than anticipated” has “gained credence.”
Given their limited asset pool — they can only trade one future first-round pick right now — the Lakers appear more likely to make a minor trade than a major one, Stein says. They continue to be linked to the Raptors‘ Bruce Brown, but Jarred Vanderbilt‘s injury weakened the roster, and Stein suggests Los Angeles may not see a major difference-makers in the market, particularly for what it can offer. Waiting until the offseason would free up more options, as the Lakers could then trade as many as three first-round picks.
According to Stein, Bulls guard Zach LaVine (foot surgery), Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, and the Cavaliers‘ Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen are among the “marquee players” who won’t be moved this season. Dejounte Murray and Kyle Kuzma are “two of the most coveted players” ahead of the February 8 deadline, but because they’re on long-term contracts, the Hawks and Wizards, respectively, might need to be patient to receive the assets they want in return, as first-round picks are hard to come by at the moment, per Stein.

Pistons Rumors: Harris, LaVine, Morris, Bogdanovic, Burks

February 5th, 2024 at 7:59am CST by Arthur Hill

With Zach LaVine out for the season, Sixers forward Tobias Harris may be the Pistons‘ top trade target, James L. Edwards of The Athletic writes in an overview of the team’s options ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Edwards has stated since December that the Pistons have interest in Harris, who spent time in Detroit early in his career and has connections with members of the front office and coaching staff.

Harris has been a reliable scorer throughout his career and is averaging 17.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season while shooting 51.2% from the field and 34.4% from three-point range. The 31-year-old can handle either forward spot and would give the Pistons a frontcourt weapon to team with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.

Edwards cautions that Detroit might not be overly aggressive in pursuing Harris this week because of his upcoming free agent status. The front office may be reluctant to part with a significant asset when it will have plenty of cap room to sign him this summer.

Edwards has more on the Pistons:

Detroit seems to have paused trade talks regarding LaVine, but Edwards isn’t certain that the team was ever very committed to acquiring him. While he reports there were “many discussions” between the Bulls and Pistons in recent weeks, sources in the organization tell Edwards that Detroit would have only gotten serious about such a move if Chicago was willing to attach other assets like draft compensation or another player such as Patrick Williams. Edwards also speculates that the Pistons may have been willing to take on LaVine’s contract if the Bulls would have accepted expiring deals in return, but he’s not certain of that. Chicago was asking for Bojan Bogdanovic and another young player, according to Edwards, who doesn’t believe Detroit would have ever agreed to that price.
League sources tell Edwards that numerous teams have inquired about Monte Morris. He cites the Timberwolves as one of the most interested parties, noting that they tried to deal for the veteran guard when he was still with Washington. Morris recently returned after being sidelined by injuries for the season’s first 43 games, and Edwards suggests that Detroit might prefer to hang onto him.
Edwards hears that rival teams have “strong interest” in Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, but the Pistons are leaning toward keeping both players unless the current offers improve.

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Trade Talks, Ball, Craig

February 3rd, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zach LaVine and the Bulls explored several options before the decision was made to have surgery to relieve the pain in his right foot, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. The team announced earlier today that LaVine has opted for a surgical procedure with a projected recovery time of four-to-six months, which should have him ready well before the start of training camp.

“Everybody’s been in lockstep,” coach Billy Donovan told reporters before tonight’s game. “It wasn’t necessarily an organizational decision of, ‘Hey, listen, he needs to do surgery.’ It was, like, ‘Listen, this is still a problem. We need to start talking to other people as well to try to get different opinions.’”

LaVine missed 17 games earlier in the season because of discomfort in his foot. He was able to return and play seven games last month before suffering a sprained right ankle. That injury has healed, but LaVine is once again being bothered by foot pain. Donovan expressed empathy for his star guard, saying he hates being sidelined with injuries.

“Personally, I feel bad for him,” Donovan added. “I know how bad he wants to play and how badly he wants to be out there. When he can’t be out there, it just bothers him. He just wants to play.”

There’s more from Chicago:

The Bulls’ most recent trade discussions with the Pistons regarding LaVine focused on Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Harris, league sources tell K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The sources weren’t certain if there were draft picks involved from either team. Johnson also speculates on whether LaVine’s surgery will affect the front office’s desire to hold onto DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso through the trade deadline in hopes of chasing a spot in the postseason. Johnson identifies the Warriors as one of several teams that have inquired about Caruso.
Lonzo Ball provided an update on his condition during an appearance on the NBC Sports Chicago telecast of Friday’s game, Johnson relays in a separate story. Ball, who has been sidelined for more than two full years and has undergone three knee surgeries, said he’s trying to stay positive and appreciate little signs of progress. “Definitely doing much better in rehab,” he said. “It’s been a long process, obviously, longer than I’d like it to be. It’s definitely cut out in stages and I keep checking off the boxes I’m supposed to and getting better each week.”
Torrey Craig returned tonight after missing the last 22 games due to right plantar fascia, Johnson tweets.