CHICAGO (AP) — Zach LaVine insisted he is healthy and ready to do whatever the Chicago Bulls ask of him this season. Above all, he’s ready to put the drama in the past.
The two-time All-Star said all that during about a three-minute statement, before he even fielded a question at the team’s media day on Monday.
“I’m in a great situation, a great headspace,” LaVine said. “I’m fully healthy right now, which I don’t take for granted. Anything negative that will try to pin me and the organization — rumors, drama, whatever it is — I leave that in the past.
“I’m focusing a lot on this camp right now, going forward on this team and helping, learning, and just having a good time.”
LaVine’s future in Chicago remains a huge question. He was mentioned in trade rumors prior to last season’s deadline, but dealing him is easier said than done.
Start with the fact that the 29-year-old LaVine is in the middle of a five-year, $215.16 million contract extension he signed after the 2021-22 season. Then, throw in the fact that he played in just 25 games last year before having season-ending foot surgery in early February.
That squashed any chance Chicago had of trading him prior to last season’s deadline. The Bulls finished 39-43 and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The Bulls traded away their best perimeter defender in June when they dealt Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City for play-making guard Josh Giddey. In July, six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan went to Sacramento in a three-team sign-and-trade deal. LaVine, meanwhile, remained in Chicago.
“I don’t speak on rumors,” LaVine said. “I don’t speak on things that I don’t know are true or not. I know I’m ready for camp, and I know I’m wearing a Chicago Bulls jersey. And I’m happy for that.”
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said the organization is “open to anything that comes our way. But Zach is part of this team, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in training camp.”
Whether they hope to still have him after the Feb. 6 trade deadline is another question. If they want to deal LaVine, the best-case scenario for them would probably be to have him play well and boost his value.
For now, the Bulls appear to have a crowd on the perimeter with LaVine back and newcomer Giddey added to a mix that includes Coby White, who’s coming off a breakout season. They also have Lonzo Ball trying to return from a meniscus transplant in his left knee, though his role will be limited, assuming he’s ready for the season opener on Oct. 23 in New Orleans against the Pelicans.
“We have a lot, quite honestly, that are probably most effective when the ball is in their hands,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “But they’re all gonna have to sacrifice. We can’t have one guy with the ball in his hands all the time. We’ve got to play in a way that showcases and plays to the strengths of all those guys.”
Donovan visited LaVine in California in the offseason, and the two appear to be on the same page for now. That hasn’t always been the case.
“There isn’t a situation or a role that I haven’t been successful in,” LaVine said. “If it needs to be on the ball one day, off the ball, defending, rebounding, leadership, there isn’t a role I’m not comfortable with.”
Giddey, meanwhile, said he ruptured a ligament in his ankle playing for Australia in the Olympics, but he expects to be ready for the season. He tore his anterior talofibular ligament on the final play of a quarterfinal loss to Serbia.
“I’m right there on the doorstep of playing again,” Giddey said.
Ball, who hasn’t played since January 2022, said he plans to be ready for the opener. He added he will be on a minutes restriction and won’t be playing games on back-to-back days.
The Bulls’ preseason opener is next week Tuesday (Oct. 8) in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.