All those Zach LaVine trade rumors, the star-needy Detroit Pistons, the hopeful Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron who shares an agent with LaVine, well, never mind.
The Bulls announced before Saturday night’s game with the Kings that LaVine, after consultation with specialists, has opted for foot surgery and will be sidelined 4-6 months. The Bulls said surgery will be next week. So now it’s uncertain if LaVine will even with a recovery period be ready for the start of next season.
The Bulls announcement read: “After seeking additional medical opinions, in consultation with the Chicago Bulls training and medical staff, guard Zach LaVine and Klutch Sports Group have elected surgery on LaVine’s right foot as the next step in his recovery process. Surgery is anticipated the week of February 5. LaVine will be out 4-6 months. Updates will be provided as necessary.”
So how’s your day gone?
"It's definitely Zach's decision," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said prior to the game. "A lot of it was predicated on Zach trying to gather as much information as he could from different foot specialists. He did meet with somebody in California when we were on that trip. As Zach was able to gather all the information, everybody has been in lock step. Obviously, he made a decision that he felt was best for his health. I really feel like he did everything he could to try to get himself back to playing. I think the discomfort in his foot was at a place where he just didn't feel like he had any chance of being himself and contributing. And I think that was really frustrating and hard for him.
“So personally, I feel bad for him because I know how bad he wants to play and be out there and if he can’t it bothers him,” said Donovan. “We’ve obviously had a lot of games where he’s not been a part of it. I thought he did a really good job when he came back (from missing 17 games), but then the sprained ankle set him back. Certainly you’d love to have a player of his caliber, and now obviously we have to play without him. When you lose really good players it impacts the team. We certainly have lost depth in our backcourt and it has put a lot on Coby (White) and DeMar (DeRozan) and even at times Alex (Caruso as far as playing time), and the fact Patrick (Williams) is out. The hope was he’d come back at some point, but then when there wasn’t a lot of response to the treatment now it’s clear we are pivoting.”
In what direction still remains a question with the NBA trade deadline Feb. 8.
LaVine thus finishes the 2023-24 season playing 25 games, his fewest with the Bulls since his first season with the team in 2017-18 when he came back for 24 game mostly to test his knee after anterior cruciate surgery. LaVine this season averaged 19.5 points obviously playing with some lingering foot issues, his fewest points since that first season. The fewest the 6-foot-5 LaVine averaged the last five seasons was 23.7 per game and as much as 27.4 per game in 2020-21. So the Bulls now face coming into next season with basically half their payroll in LaVine and Lonzo Ball and uncertainty about whether either can play.
It also puts a potential additional strain on White and DeRozan, who currently are Nos. 1 and 2 in the NBA in minutes played with the absence of LaVine. Caruso also is playing career-most minutes as he averaged 31per game last month, the most in his NBA career over a full month.
So with LaVine out it seems less likely now the Bulls make a trade since the speculation was that the primary discussions centered around LaVine. But now that LaVine is away possibly into next season — and thus not likely to be traded this summer — the demands on the Bulls perhaps increase for making a move at the trade deadline for additional help.
“I also think it’s about the right guys,” said Donovan. “People you feel will help and mentally-wise as well. There are some flexibility with some of the guys we have, but it does put some duress on those guys.”
Caruso’s name often has been circulated as a trade target for top teams because of his valuable defensive play. Though it seems unlikely the Bulls move to trade him. The uninformed general consensus seems to be the Bulls prefer to play out the current positive run with a chance to get something going in the play-in tournament rather than resetting for future seasons.
“Out of my control completely,” said Caruso pre-game. “I’m more focused about playing against the Kings. Whatever they decide to do, it's kind of their decision. My job as an employee of this team is to show up and do my duty, and that's to go out and play basketball every night, and that’s what I’m focused on. Whatever coach needs me to do, that’s what I’ll do. My focus is helping the team win.
“It sucks for him (LaVine),” said Caruso. “We feel for him. Four-to-six months is real surgery. It’s important to take care of your body. We know he wants to be there for the team. The timing sucks too; he just came off an injury. But no one’s going to come in and save us. We still have to go out there and work. We’ve still got 32 games to go. Our perspective as players is he’s been out, so we’ve had a little bit of landscape for what it looks like. It’s sad to see because two great players (LaVine and Ball) you want to have playing for your team.”
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