Report questions Zach LaVine's importance to the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls don’t have much clarity for this season, aside from the fact they’ll be without ace guard Zach LaVine for the rest of the season after the latter elected to undergo surgery on his ailing right foot that caused him to miss 17 games between December and early January.

On the surface, LaVine’s season-ending surgery is a great loss to a franchise hoping to become relevant in the Eastern Conference again. However, Bulls insider Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic says that may not be true.

Doing fine without LaVine

When LaVine got sidelined for the first time season at the end of November, many were writing obituaries for the Bulls’ playoff chances. The team played disjointed basketball, sporting a 5-14 record then. Fast forward to February, and Chicago sits in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, accumulating a 13-12 record without LaVine in the lineup. Writing for The Athletic, Mayberry posed the question: “What exactly are they with him?”

“Not much,” Mayberry said.

“They are a middling franchise. They’re not a joke right now — except when they try to hold a ring of honor ceremony without embarrassment — but they’re not contenders either.”

The #Bulls front office really screwed up this Zach LaVine situation.

- They gave him a massive $215M contract which seems tough to trade now

- They never fielded offers at the peak of his trade value. They waited until the value was on a steep decline.

- They dragged their… pic.twitter.com/6EkJvtE1AW
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) February 4, 2024

Low expectations

According to Mayberry, the Bulls went into the season not dreaming of having a championship parade on the streets of Chicago. Rather, after falling short in the Play-in Tournament last season, the team sought to return to that stage and hopefully make it to the playoffs.

“The Bulls’ realistic, mundane goal for the season was, and still is, to make a second consecutive Play-In Tournament. Going into Tuesday’s game with Minnesota and Thursday’s trade deadline, Chicago is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference,” Mayberry said.

"This relationship has had breakup written all over it for a long time," @KCJHoop said of Zach LaVine's relationship with the Bulls.

Listen to Johnson's full interview with @mullyhaugh on what's next for LaVine and the Bulls:https://t.co/sCUooRNm3C pic.twitter.com/wiCjEMMguq
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) February 5, 2024

“The ninth-best team in the East. A Play-In contender. That’s your low-expectation NBA franchise, Chicago. And that’s the Bulls’ identity with or without LaVine.”

Doing fine without LaVine

Low expectations

Report claims Zach LaVine's season-ending surgery confirms this should be the end of this Chicago Bulls squad