Zach LaVine is beefing with the Bulls, and it shows a team reset is necessary

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There are new reports of friction inside Chicago’s locker room. It sure feels like it’s time for the Bulls to pivot.

The Chicago Bulls are imploding, and how the franchise chooses to respond to its cursed start has become one of the biggest open questions in the NBA. The Bulls are 12-18 and would be outside of the Eastern Conference play-in picture if the season ended today. This is not how things were supposed to go for the Bulls, not in the second year of a bold veteran makeover that came at the cost of the team’s best future assets. Chicago was on top of the East as recently as Feb. 2022, but Lonzo Ball’s injury, lingering knee issues for Zach LaVine, and a glaring lack of shooting has drained the Bulls of whatever potency they once had.

As trade speculation circles around Chicago, there are new reports of internal friction centered around LaVine and head coach Billy Donovan. Shams Charania detailed the Bulls’ issues at The Athletic, which includes frustrated team meetings, “increased skepticism within the locker room” about Donovan and the coaching staff, and growing unease with LaVine’s place as the franchise’s signature star in the first year of a $215 million contract.

“Over the past few weeks, there’s been a palpable feeling across various parts of the franchise of a disconnect over LaVine’s situation in Chicago,” according to Charania. Charania also reported the Bulls “held multiple team meetings trying to work out their issues,” and the reporters on the ground in Chicago uncovered something perhaps even more concerning: finger pointing at LaVine after a pitiful 150-126 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night without Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

The 150 points allowed by the Bulls is the most for the franchise since 1982, and extended their losing streak to four games. There were some spicy quotes coming out of the locker room after the loss, with DeRozan calling the effort “embarrassing” and Goran Dragic saying the team was no longer playing for each other.

LaVine’s defensive effort was particularly uninspiring against the Wolves, as detailed by reporter Steph Noh.

The performance was so bad Chicago dropped from No. 9 to No. 18 in defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference. LaVine of course isn’t solely responsible for giving up all those points by himself, but his slow start in the first year of a massive contract extension is only adding to the speculation that the Bulls may need to blow it up.

Donovan’s contract makes the situation even trickier. The Bulls gave Donovan a secret extension over the offseason despite the team melting down late in the season, and Donovan already having two years remaining on his deal. Charania reports that Donovan is safe in Chicago, but it’s easy to connect the dots in the report that it’s LaVine who isn’t happy with his head coach. Donovan benched LaVine earlier this year which led to sniping in the media from both sides.

Chicago was hoping Ball could get healthy and give the lineup a boost with his return, but that’s looking increasingly less likely. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported there are no guarantees Ball can play at all this season, and Donovan has admitted Ball is still feeling pain in his knee when he tries to run. Ball’s exit from the lineup on Jan. 14 last season has coincided with the Bulls’ sinking play.

So: should the Bulls trade LaVine before the deadline? It mostly depends on what the offers look like and how the Bulls view their near-term future. LaVine is only 27 years old and earned his max contract by being elite at rim finishing and three-point shooting. His efficiency in both areas has fallen off this year after a knee issue appeared last season and required an offseason cleanup operation. As LaVine has declined in his strongest areas, his weaknesses as a defender and decision-maker have become more apparent.

If the Bulls trade LaVine now, they might be trading him at the low point of his value. At the same time, it may be prudent for the franchise to dump his massive contract now in case he can’t regain 100 percent of his physical explosiveness coming off the injury.

The better move for the Bulls is seeking trade offers for their other veterans, but that’s a tough call, too: the Bulls traded their top-4 protected 2023 draft pick to the Orlando Magic to acquire Nikola Vucevic, and would have a 49% chance of losing the pick even if they finish with the worst record in the NBA.

Still, Chicago would be wise to maximize its chances of keeping its own pick while reloading its assets base after sending so many out build this team. The Bulls should start with DeRozan, Vucevic, and Alex Caruso as trade candidates with an eye on trying to acquire first round picks that convey as early as possible, or intriguing young players.

DeRozan is coming off a Second-Team All-NBA season and could have a big market league-wide. The Bulls would be selling high on the 33-year-old if they choose to do it knowing they already traded a top-8 protected first round pick in 2025 to acquire him. Vucevic is on an expiring deal and is likely to hit the free agent market after underwhelming with his play since arriving in town. Caruso would be another example of selling high for the Bulls, and he should have the widest market of any player on the roster given his team-friendly contract.

Could the Bulls get three first round picks and one interesting young player if they decide trade all of DeRozan, Vucevic, and Caruso? In doing so, the Bulls could reload their future assets, increase the chances of getting in the Victor Wembanyama derby, and still have a decent young core to build around with LaVine, Ball, Patrick Williams, Ayo Dosunmu, and Dalen Terry. Williams in particular could greatly benefit from a bigger offensive load if the Bulls decide to trade DeRozan.

Ownership seems to want the team to make the playoffs every year, but in reality the Bulls are at a dead-end and need to take advantage of an opportunity to parachute into a soft landing.

This team is going nowhere as currently constructed. Even if Chicago makes the play-in tournament by default because of so many tankers in the East, it’s impossible to view the team as only being a healthy Ball away from contending. And by the way, if Ball can play again, do the Bulls really expect him to be the same brilliant role player he was after missing almost two full seasons with a bizarre bone bruise on his knee?

The report of tension inside the locker room may actually be the best thing for the Bulls’ future. Standing pat and trying to run this team back with Ball next season shouldn’t be an option (it would also require signing Vucevic to an extension). Williams isn’t taking some star leap as DeRozan and LaVine dominate offensive possessions. There’s no real upside on this roster. The Bulls simply need more assets and more outs moving forward. What they really need, more than anything, is the type of lottery luck that eluded the franchise in the wake of its 2017 Jimmy Butler trade.

Right now, the Bulls are a team with no draft picks, no cap space, and no hope to advance past the first round of the playoffs any time soon. Top executive Arturas Karnisovas said he wanted to see improvement from the team coming into this season after a 46-win campaign last year, and that certainly hasn’t happened. At this point, Karnisovas needs to look into the mirror and realize this team he built isn’t working, and isn’t going to work.

The Bulls are a tough spot in the present and the future. Finding a way out will require some painful moves, but it sure feels like the best thing for Chicago’s future.