Standout Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine felt he could’ve got a similar level of attention for breaking out in the bubble as other top guards.
There were a lot of players that got national attention that might not be otherwise after breaking through in the bubble after the season’s restart at Disney World. Players like Indiana Pacers small forward TJ Warren, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, and Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker, among others, really broke through in a big way and got a lot of national attention for their hot streaks. This is an opportunity that wasn’t afforded to players like Chicago Bulls standout shooting guard Zach LaVine, as his squad was a part of the eight teams that didn’t participate in the restart in the bubble at Disney World.
LaVine mentioned this stance he has on the breakouts that similar scoring guards to him like Murray and Mitchell had, among others, in the bubble. In a piece with Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic that was released over the weekend (paid content), LaVine mentioned that he might’ve had a similar breakthrough like Murray and Mitchell had if the Bulls were one of the teams competing in the restart.
He also gave the respect to players like Booker and Murray, stating that “they’ve been doing this for years”. That harped on how the national media didn’t give these underrated guards the attention they deserved prior to the restart.
While LaVine makes a fair point, it’s hard to just automatically buy into the fact that he would’ve been a possible contender to make the NBA All-Bubble Team just because he has a similar skill set to those other guards. The Bulls were a long ways from making it to the restart, as they rounded out with a record of 22-43 prior to the pause back in mid-March.
But the good news for LaVine and the Bulls is that management/ownership is already making the moves necessary to reshape the direction of the organization and the rebuild heading into its fourth year. Former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was hired to replace former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen last week, which should give even more hope heading into next season.
Watch out for LaVine to take his game to another level next season. He already had his best season in his NBA career to date during the shortened 2019-20 campaign. LaVine averaged 25.5 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks. He did all that while posting career highs in total win shares (despite the shortened regular season), box plus/minus rating, and player efficiency rating.
Other significant changes that the Bulls made earlier in the offseason included bringing aboard former Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas and Philadelphia 76ers senior vice president of player personnel Marc Eversley to head up the front office. Karnisovas will be the lead voice, replacing John Paxson, and Eversley replaces Gar Forman as general manager.