{"id":106188,"date":"2024-11-11T05:41:42","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T10:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=106188"},"modified":"2024-11-11T05:41:59","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T10:41:59","slug":"zach-lavine-mindset-more-attractive-bulls-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/11\/zach-lavine-mindset-more-attractive-bulls-trades\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach LaVine\u2019s Mindset Makes Him More Attractive For Bulls, Trades"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Bulls are currently 4-6, but the vibes surrounding the team seem better than last season. Given how poorly they executed their offseason plan<\/a>, this may come as a shock. Ironically though, the reason the Bulls may be in good spirits is the fact that they did fail to make the moves they wanted this offseason.<\/p>\n

The Bulls wanted to keep DeMar DeRozan<\/a> but it\u2019s been easier to play with pace and space since his trade to the Sacramento Kings. Chicago tried hard to move Zach LaVine<\/a>, but he\u2019s arguably been their best player. The same can be said for Nikola Vucevic<\/a>, who has been on a tear lately.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that the franchise has pivoted away from their position though. That leaves both LaVine and Vucevic in a place of uncertainty, which can be uncomfortable for anyone.<\/p>\n

Zach LaVine\u2019s Mindset Makes Him More Attractive For Bulls, Trades<\/h2>\n

While he\u2019s been understanding of the team\u2019s desire<\/a> to lean into a youth movement, LaVine\u2019s mind is on winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you ever lower expectations,\u201d LaVine says, per Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley. \u201cYou go into each game trying to win, regardless. I don\u2019t care if you have the lowest expectations on the totem pole, we\u2019re trying to win games, at least I am. I\u2019m not here trying to throw no games. Been in Chicago for years, we\u2019re not trying to lose games.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut understanding the situation we\u2019re in with the guys, we\u2019re trying to develop dudes as well. You know, how can the veteran guys put their footprint into the game and help us win, but also help raise these guys\u2019 level of play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lost In Translation<\/h3>\n

LaVine\u2019s comments are a glimpse into the future. Yet, like Matthew McConaughy in Interstellar<\/em>, the time warp hasn\u2019t changed the space around him as much as it\u2019s affected the way he communicates. In Interstellar<\/em>, McConaughy\u2019s character is forced to use gravity and Morse code in order to escape his situation. LaVine is obviously able to vocalize his thoughts, but he still has to resort to cryptic messages.<\/p>\n

On the surface, the 29-year-old is saying all the right stuff.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s bought into the Bulls\u2019 philosophies, so much so that at least one of his teammates believes he\u2019s \u201cbeen as mentally dialed in as he\u2019s been the past few seasons, and at the same time emerged as a real leader.\u201d He\u2019s the team\u2019s most consistent scorer on the wing. Yet, he\u2019s willing to sacrifice touches for other perimeter players\u2019 development. Despite the Bulls\u2019 status as a rebuilding team, he would rather compete earnestly than accept mediocrity.<\/p>\n

However, even if it\u2019s not his intention, he\u2019s sending a message to Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan.<\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019ve got the wrong guy.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

A True Competitor<\/h3>\n

LaVine has often been criticized for not being a \u2018winning\u2019 player. His habits at both ends of the court needed to be cleaned up, largely his relatively slow decision-making and poor defensive effort. His relationship with Donovan has been strained by his previous lack of buy-in.<\/p>\n

Yet, he\u2019s never quit or checked-out on his team or teammates in the middle of a game. While he\u2019s had to mature as a player, he\u2019s always carried himself in a serious manner on the court. He\u2019s also quite confident in his capabilities.<\/p>\n

The questions about LaVine\u2019s mentality have been fair. Nonetheless, the comments he\u2019s made about his current role underscore his competitive nature. Factor in what\u2019s already known about the former lottery pick and whether he\u2019s a \u2018winner\u2019\u00a0<\/em>comes down to far more than his well-documented flaws.<\/p>\n

This should make the two-time All-Star more attractive to every team in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Will Zach LaVine Be Traded<\/h3>\n

Despite LaVine turning over a new leaf so to speak, the Bulls are still looking to trade him.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t quite track with Karnisovas\u2019s comments about wanting to \u201cwin every game<\/a>,\u201d especially with how well he\u2019s been playing. However, it makes perfect sense for a franchise with a top-10 protected pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. If Chicago can ship off both him and<\/em> Vucevic, they\u2019ll probably have a great shot at a top-10 pick.<\/p>\n

With that selection, the Bulls may be able to acquire Duke forward Cooper Flagg<\/a> or Rutgers forward Ace Bailey<\/a>, who league executives view as contenders for the top spot<\/a> in the 2025 NBA Draft. Georgia big man Asa Newell<\/a> is another potential top-10 pick Chicago may be interested in.<\/p>\n

As of now, the Los Angeles Lakers seem like the best candidate to land either LaVine or Vucevic given their team needs<\/a>. The Sacramento Kings are viewed as a team still looking for an upgrade on the perimeter. The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers could try to make a splash after their horrid starts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Bulls are currently 4-6, but the vibes surrounding the team seem better than last season. Given how poorly they executed their offseason plan, this may come as a shock. Ironically though, the reason the Bulls may be in good spirits is the fact that they did fail to make the moves they wanted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":106257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1608,62],"tags":[98,4774,474,457],"class_list":["post-106188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulls","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-rumors","tag-nikola-vucevic","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}