At 12-18 on the season, this era of Bulls basketball may already be over. With no word on the return of Lonzo Ball, who continues to miss time with a knee injury, the Bulls have been forced to adapt without their starting point guard, and it’s been a major struggle.
Now, with the roads to contention dwindling, there is a sense around the league that the Bulls are on the verge of a major shakeup, and the New York Knicks are one team looking to take advantage of their situation.
Amid a season-best 8-game win streak, the Knicks are reported to be ‘monitoring’ the availability of star guard Zach LaVine.
Just before Chicago executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley arrived in Las Vegas for the Showcase, Bulls star Zach LaVine drew the frustration of his teammates during a blowout loss to Minnesota. Several NBA teams, including the New York Knicks, are monitoring whether LaVine will become available on the trade market after Chicago’s underwhelming start to the season at 12-18, Lonzo Ball’s return from injury in question, and Nikola Vucevic’s looming free agency.
There is a strong case for the Bulls to be sellers this deadline, so it makes sense why they’d give up LaVine for the right package of assets. But would LaVine really move the needle for New York?
Under the right circumstances, it could be possible, especially with the defense the team has been playing lately. But LaVine carries some baggage that could make the Knicks think twice about his acquisition.
Bulls Players Were Reportedly Frustrated With Zach LaVine Amid Blowout Loss
There has been a lot of chatter out of Chicago lately, and most of it has centered around Zach LaVine, whose inconsistencies on both ends of the floor are causing some problems.
Sunday’s blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in which the Chicago Bulls allowed 150 points in regulation for the first time in 40 years featured players engaging in strong exchanges at halftime, sources said, voicing collective frustrations.
The incident drew the attention of the coaching staff, although coach Billy Donovan said he wasn’t made aware of it until after the fact.
Two sources familiar with the incident said some of the frustration was directed at Zach LaVine, if not directly by name than at least by defensive breakdowns involving him.
The Bulls have lost the defensive edge they carried so proudly in the first half of last season, and there’s no telling how they can get it back without some major moves.
But at this point, the Bulls have to ask themselves if salvaging this roster is the better option over trading everything and making a run for one of the best prospects the basketball world has ever seen.
If they do decide to go that route, you can bet that the Knicks will be one of the first teams on the phone.
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