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How will Zach LaVine’s season-ending surgery impact what Bulls do at trade deadline



How will Zach LaVine’s season-ending surgery impact what Bulls do at trade deadline

Hi everybody welcome into the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s go places I am Kevin Anderson joined by our Insider for the Chicago Bulls and for nbcsports chicago.com and NBC Sports Chicago the great casc Johnson Casey let’s get right to the Zack LaVine stuff

Certainly this is the first time we’ve done a podcast since the uh news came out that he is going to miss the entirety of the rest of the season first off what can you tell us about the injury and the the timeline I saw a lot

Of people say well you know why was he GNA be re-evaluated in a week and then all of a sudden boom he’s out for the season if you could kind of provide some clarity for some viewers who may not understand what went what happened behind the scenes with this yeah so

Because we taped this last one on on Thursday and uh I knew an update was coming on Friday and I kept hinting like you know I I I I didn’t I I will say I’m surprised by surgery but I’m not surprised by the severity of the injury

Because um you know I was giving kind of indications that something more significant was going to come on Friday it got pushed today um and that’s why if you go back to our podcast last time I kept saying man this dude’s hurt I know there’s like conspiracy theories about

This being tied to the trade deadline but this dude is hurt and it’s now born out that way so um you know they were just kind of letting Zach and his agency finalize second opin and stuff that’s why they bought some time said he’s

Going to be out a week and then the next day the surgery’s announced it’s it sounds like the timing was a little clunky but um you know do we’re focusing on the wrong details the details are the fact that he needs surgery on an injury that quite frankly has been bothering

Him all season and I’m not I’m not putting his poor play on injuries I’m not I’m not fully absolving Zach but if you go back to early in the season he was having trouble finishing at the rim and again that’s not all in the injury but you can’t be over overlooked um he

Just has not been himself since training camp and preseason and um now we have a little bit more concrete reason why I don’t think he’s going to be out four to six months um I know that’s the timeline they put on him he’s definitely going to

Be out for the season but I think he’ll be back earlier in the off season that’s kind of the early Intel that I’ve received um and once Zach addresses us you know I’ll have more details on kind of the situation but you know it’s it’s that fifth metatarsal area there’s some

There’s some Li uh some bone situation and ligament situation I’m not a doctor but this is way it’s been described to me um he had some issues on this earlier in his life not in college he only played one year UCLA but I know he had

Some foot issues dating back to when he was a youth I was told um so um man it’s uh it’s it’s a serious thing and it certainly impacts the Bulls in trade deadline week although I will say I think it was still going to be a long

Shot that they were going to be able to deal him injury or no injury but now it’s to me next to Impossible and quite frankly it’s going to be hard moving forward into the offseason as well yeah that was honest my n question certainly you know we’re not extremely unlikely it

It could happen there could be a team completely sold on Zack but given what you’ve reported and others reported that’s very unlikely he would be moved before Thursday getting to the summer let’s say he is covered uh how much of an impact do you think this has

On his the Bull’s ability to trade him at that point I just looking from the outside and from another team’s perspective I would think any team that would want to commit to the salary that Zack LaVine is owed over the next several seasons would want to see him on

The court first to basically see yeah he can still play at a high level before you’re going to give up significant assets to trade for him now the Bulls certainly could lower their as asking price to be very very low uh in a deal that a team might be with especially a

Team with cap space this summer might be willing to take on uh Zach um how do you think that’s going to impact any trade discussions this summer I mean this is now a over it’ll be over a year since the Zach is open to being traded or up

For being traded you know um it’ll be there I mean it’s it just seems to me to make it a really murky for what the the Bulls could do this summer regarding Zack no question and um you know I reported even before this news of the surgery that there was a growing

Sentiment around the league that the Bulls might have to attach an asset to get off of his contract and that was before this surgery the sense I got in talking in in my reporting and calls around the league is that before this is pre-injury or pre-surgery I should say

Not pre-injury but pre-surgery announce ment that the Bulls were either going to have to attach an asset or merely salary dump them for all expiring and so you had a surgery into that equation his third one two on his left knee one now on his foot and you combine that with

$138 million owed this over the next three years and you’ve got a you’ve got a pickle I mean you’ve got a difficult situation I mean it still could happen and you know Zach sh you know Zach um I saw someone make a good point like the

Bulls traded for him when he had a torn ACL I mean like if you really want Zack LaVine he has shown the ability to come back from injuries and I don’t think um this surgery is going to be that uh sign I mean it’s any surgery is significant

But I I’m told that this is going to be a pretty high success rate for full recovery so um there is that so yeah like you said I mean if a team really wants him I think the Bulls could still get off of him but they’re going to have

To significantly lower they’re asking price there’s going to be no more Zack LaVine Bonanza or you know an equate equate him to any of these deals that were moved prior you know these Allstars that were moved prior especially we haven’t even got into the new collective bargaining agreement in the second apron

Penalties and for teams you know that really restricts those teams ability to do business if if you add a big contract and you go into that second apron so it’s man the Bulls have a mess on their hands there is no question about that yeah and to me there is’s a big

Difference uh in trading for a 22 or 23 year old coming off ACL surgery uh versus trading for 28 29 year old who’s coming off knee or foot surgery I mean it’s certainly not the same type of injury but in terms of the risk versus reward factor for me Zack LaVine had

Significant upside when the Bulls you know included him in that Jimmy Butler deal um you know now it’s it’s I think teams are going to take the approach I need to see the Zach can still perform in a high level on the court before I’m I’m willing to trade for him and

Certainly that puts the Bulls in a very difficult position uh we are now um several days away from the trade deadline on Thursday 2 pm Central what is your sense of how this LaVine surgery is that going to impact what the Bulls are going to do with the trade

Deadline in your opinion so I’ll just say this like um it took me a long time to get to the the organizational philosophy working from the outside in before this uh Zach surgery news so I I do not have that reported out or sused

Out yet I mean I was I I reported way back in December that uh that the Bulls organizational philosophy and their goal was to trade Zack LaVine um see how the rest of the roster shook down once they made that deal and then assess that moving forward in

Advance the February trade deadline see if they want to do other deals or not obviously that’s out the window now so as far as their new philosophy I don’t have a sense of that yet I can just tell you what I know this to this point and

This is not to say I know everything but I do not I have not heard much of a market for Demar D Roan now I can change between now and Thursday but as you sit you and I sit here on Monday morning talking I have not heard much from Mark

Demar D Roan there is a market for Alex Caruso it’s been reported by many people including myself that to this point the Bulls have been resist to trading Al cuso does that change between now and Thursday I don’t know what Management’s thinking on that I do know that multiple

Teams have called on Caruso one that I’ve reported by name is Golden State Warriors um I don’t know you know how serious that is um to this point but I do know that they’ve exchanged some phone calls so we’ll see where they we’ll get answers by Thursday on their

Their organizational philosophy and then hopefully we’ll get to talk to management about that um um if you’re asking me to guess I would say d rozan stays I think Caruso could go either way but if you’re asking me to make a prediction I think he stays and then I

Think there’s a good chance Andre Drummond is moved by Thursday I think there’s enough interest in him that you’re gonna ultimately get uh some draft Capital probably some second round picks um and I just see that being a move that the Bulls are comfortable making again this is not my reporting

This is my guess um based on you know I’ve made and things like that so um we’ll get answers by Thursday but yeah I mean that’s immediately everybody’s next followup like once the Zach news hit like how does this impact they thinking on the rest of the roster because we’ve

Made it they’ve made it clear they they want to chase the playoffs they want to chase the play in so I still do I still will be surprised if they just punt on everything I will be very surprised if they do that to me it comes down to what

Do you value more more do you value trying to make a playin push for this season um or do you value trying to move forward with this team into next season and Beyond uh certainly they are they’ve got issues their their 2025 first round pick uh is owed to the San Antonio Spurs

I believe it’s top 10 protected uh for that um but if you’re anywhere 11 or above San Antonio gets that pick and so there aren’t a lot of obvious opportunities right now to improve this roster um in the in the medium term right next season and Beyond

And so I think certainly whatever they do on Thursday is going to be a a huge signal it’s going to be a bat signal of sorts about what this organization is looking at long term if they were to keep Caruso keep Drummond even uh certainly keep D rozan that that to me

Signals that they are trying to make some type of playoff push right yeah but I also want to emphasize like you can come to an organizational conclusion that you want to trade Demar D rozan and kind of restart the roster uh makeover and not find a market or a suitable deal

For him I mean that is a very real possibility as well and I want to stress I’m not reporting that the Bulls have reached that conclusion because I actually think dear um will be on this team next year even um that’s so um we’ll see how it plays out but it takes

Two teams sometimes three to make deals work um Caruso is the to me the most interesting one because it’s known that you know most I’ve reported other people reported there there’s interest in Caruso so he to me is like that’s going to be a Phil philosophical bellweather you know like

Do they trade him or not because you can trade Alex Caruso make no bones about that if you want to you can trade Alex Caruso um now maybe maybe they may reach the me conclusion internally that they want to trade him and they don’t like the deals they don’t think they’re

Getting enough value for him because you know that’s a that’s a valuable piece especially on the contract he makes and you know this is why hopefully we get a chance to talk to management this week because not only will we be able to parse what they’re thinking off their

Actions but also then we get hopefully some words because um the Zach thing really to me throws a huge uh wrench into the organizational philosophy it just it just does so d rozen’s a unrestricted free agent this summer uh could could be he also could be extended

He could be extend you’re right much was extended before he had unrestricted free agency the same thing could happen with tomorrow very very good uh you know correction there he could be an unrestricted free agent he’s headed towards unrestricted free AG put it that way uh Patrick Williams is a restricted

Free agent and so you know certainly the decisions this team has to make um this summer you know because I let me back up a few minutes ago because uh the fan base I could I could hear I could Obi-Wan sense a disturbance in the force

When you said that is likely that the Bulls uh resign you think Demar is going to be on this roster next season that means that certainly as we’ve just discussed it’s very unlikely Zach gets traded this summer certainly is possible they could a team they could lower their asking price significant

It doesn’t mean Zach’s not going to be trade this summer however the the more likely scenario then is if you’re bringing dear back he’s also gonna be back with v and with Zach and what are we again we’re now into year four of continuity

With this team so like I I hear that and it’s just like as a the fan part of me looks at we all know that this isn’t working right like the the the goal of any franchise of the Bulls caliber should not be playin Contender if your goal is just to hover

Around 8 through 11 eight through 10 every season you’re an NBA hell you’re just mediocre um we that’s what we’ve seen from this team in the last several years like we have one playoff win in six Seasons when we get through this season if they are a playin and done

Team they will be one single playoff win in Seven Seasons um one playoff appearance in seven seasons and so if you look at that big picture to me you’ve got to do something bold like you can’t just sit back and go continuity again like I’m I’m going to pull a line

From uh one of my favorite fil films aliens uh there’s a line the Sigourney Weaver says we’ve got to Nuke it from orbit just to be sure the Bulls are now to me in the nukeit from orbit roster phase of this organization like you need to completely blow things up and if we

Get continuity again for year four next season um like you can’t keep repeating the same thing expecting a different result like you need to do something it’s certainly the Alex kuso aspect of but you could be bold and trade Alex kuso but depending on what you get in

Return are you really better team with that we know how much cruso impacts winning um he certainly you know cross our fingers has been relatively healthy this year uh as we talked about uh last week I think he’s uh trending to playing 70 games this year which is uh

Incredible um you certainly we we know how much he impacts winning um certainly we’ve seen some development from Kobe white and IO dumu io’s been great over the last several weeks so we’re seeing development there and we’ll continue to see development hopefully from both players the rest of the season but Lo

Long term like looking at this organization’s look at this roster I don’t see how you can go let’s run it back again even with the injuries like I don’t want the Zack injury to be an excuse like they’ve played well overall without Zach we we’ve seen that Zach was

Not having a good year to your point earlier uh I just don’t see how you can go yep we’re all in again continuity with all caps is back for another season yeah I would say two things to that um number one uh we haven’t I I we haven’t

Even factored in tax concerns because uh Patrick Williams is restricted free agents so if you do resign tomarrow and you can’t trade Zach and I I mean what are we guessing for a number for Patrick 12 to 18 some I mean range but I mean I don’t you know so so

You know then you got tax concerns I will and the second thing I was going to say is thank goodness if you’re a bulls uh if you work for the Bulls management thank goodness you got both Kobe and IO resigned long-term on value deals because as you just mentioned those two

To me are the biggest success story lines of the season and they’re both bed out I I want to give out ass sumu like all the credit in the world man watching that guy play over the last week two weeks has been man you just you just you

Got to tip your cap to the dude’s work ethic and commitment and relentlessness that’s the word I always use with him because you always count that dude out and he just finds away and he is playing at such a high level these last couple weeks um and so if you’re Bulls

Management you gotta thank your lucky stars that you have you actually have three huge players on value deals Caruso Kobe and iow they’re all overperforming their deals so you know for as much as we rake management through the Kohls and and point out their missteps you got to

You got to credit them for those three things I mean those three are all solid contributors on good deals um so uh and that’s going to be very important for them moving forward if they’re not able to trade Zack LaVine yeah um it’s it’s a lot a lot

That happens between now and Thursday is going to determine this future I mean I I think I said um going back I think when we did a podcast in uh gosh even like October I think I said that the next four months are going to determine the next four years of this organization

And like that that to me is not overstating at all of what the crossroads that this team is at right now with the roster you know yeah I wrote I’ve said this before I wrote it again today or yesterday and I retweeted today in in my com I mean to me this was

Always built out of that three-year window just the way the contracts are structed and this is the windows up 23 24 ends the window you’re going to have Clarity on Lonzo situation whether or not he’s a career ending injury which you can wipe $20 million off your books

Caruso’s got a um partially guaranteed for next year do you trade him do you keep him and fully guarantee him obviously if you keep him you’re fully guaranteeing him dear’s unrestricted so this is it this is this the 24 off season is is when we get the next

Iteration of this Bulls roster and to your point if they run it back man what what what are we doing here because we’ve seen what that ceiling is they’re they’re headed for another did they finish 10th or ninth last season I should remember that but they were they

40 wins they finished 10th they were on the road in Toronto as the then obviously so so they climbed a spot tonight and uh but yeah we’ve kind of seen what this ceiling is yeah um yeah so the the the next three days are very impactful in the Bulls world and

Speaking of Thursday we’ve got two things coming up on Thursday for you uh first thing is at 2m Central where the trade deadline is uh on the NBC Sports Chicago YouTube page uh Jason G Kendall Gill and KC are going to be doing a live uh show reacting to what the Bulls are

Do or do not do at the deadline they will have plenty to discuss I’m really looking forward to watching that one uh three obviously people who know the Bulls very very well so again 2 pm on Thursday Jason Kendall and KC on the NBC Sports Chicago YouTube page and then

Thursday night uh if you happy about what the Bulls did upset about the Bulls did if you just want to come visit uh at Cody’s public house uh in the city we are going to be doing Bulls pregame live on location at 6:30 before the Bulls uh

Memphis game uh Jason Golf and Kendall Gill will be there at Cody’s uh come watch uh see what they have to say about what happened earlier that day around the league uh at large and certainly uh regarding the Bulls so that’s Thursday at 6:30 at Cody’s public house with

Jason and Kendall Bulls pregame live I believe I believe they serve beer I believe they serve beer there if you want to go drop your s they do among other Spirits yes they do um yeah uh it’s a very very interesting gonna be interesting day uh in in the Bulls

Fandom um want to get back to Lonzo uh he joined Adam and Stacy on the broadcast during the second quarter on Saturday um he seems in pretty good spirits judging from that interview he fully intends to play next season um he is not super far along in his progress

In in that he is cutting and doing basketball movements uh per se but Casey I believe you uh listened to that interview when on on your earpiece um what did you take away from what Lonzo had to say in his few minutes with Adam and Stacy yeah pretty similar to kind of

The vibe we get from him every time he talks he’s a relentlessly chill and positive person and he you know the mental is a big part of his comeback I mean if he said if the mind’s right the body will follow um you can hear you can

Every time we talk to teammates about him you can see why people gravitate towards him he’s just got a you know calm and chill and uh you know uh leadership presence about him and uh that’s why you hope he gets back on the court you know from about the basketball

And a human standpoint um so pretty similar to you know we talked to him in Paris uh we talked to him in training camp uh I’ve run into him once since then casually and you know just caught up and he’s always kind of the same he’s upbeat

He’s confident but you know until he starts running and sprinting and cutting I should say sprinting and cutting because he has done some running it’s all to me a mood point and you know uh I’m talking strictly from a basketball standpoint here because thankfully to this point this last surgery the

Cartilage transplant has alleviated some pain situations you know he used to experience pain with some of the things he’s doing now where he’s painfree but until he’s tested it on a basketball court with cutting and sprinting uh just strictly from a basketball standpoint or not a human standpoint it’s to me wake

Me when it’s over I mean he’s got to get past those things or you can’t play NBA basketball obviously so um hope it happens for him and it was nice that he joined our broadcast that was that was great to hear him and Adam and Stacy together yeah his uh initial injury was

Two years and a month go um so certainly when you talk about getting into training camp it’ll be over two and a half years at that point if we see him back on the court you know I think we are uh unanimous among the entire fan

Base we’re all pulling for him like we want to see him return but I think from a from a um personal standpoint it’s was great to hear that he’s painfree doing normal everyday stuff right that that’s like that that’s your concern that that his injury was

Going to be one where he couldn’t um pick up his kids go running you know with them on a bike and like like normal dad stuff normal human stuff like that that that you want to get past that and certainly if he can get to the point in

Which he can run and cut and jump and play 30 minutes uh a night then like great that’s that’s awesome and I hope that happens for him next season if it doesn’t happen beyond that um so yeah it was good to good to hear Lonzo uh you

Know talking about you know how he how he’s doing in that regard he spoke very highly of dearen fox um who he uh who he knows pretty well um and speaking of the Kings game Casey um we we saw we got close to a incredible comeback they were

Down 30 a one point in the third quarter I believe the closest they got was four if I’m not mistaken three it was a one possession game twice they came down twice with a chance to tie yeah uh so we nearly saw NBA history in that right that’s a 30-point comeback in

The second half um is extremely rare we almost saw it but it does speak to the larger point of where this bull Bulls team is uh the kings are a a very very good team there’s a reason that they are in the playoff scenario in the west um

Because they’ve got a lot of really good young players Keegan Murray didn’t actually have that great a game no but the ball movement yes uh but the ball movement that they I mean they they I think had eight assists on the first eight field goals if I’m remembering

Correctly in the game um they are they are a fun team Fox is great sabonis is fantastic another triple doubles second NBA in triple doubles this season with sabonis behind joic um they are what the Bulls should aspire to be as a team as a roster because uh they’re they’re going

Places like they they are a team that you are expecting to be in the second round in the west yeah and and um the only is we well we won’t spend a lot of time on this because it was you know it was Saturday night but um the reason has

Context is you got another Western Conference power coming in Tuesday at the United Center in the Minnesota Timberwolves yeah and what I would say from the Kings game you’re you’re spot on with everything you say about the Kings I was tweeting a lot about the Kings just because it was like amazing

To watch such beautiful offensive basketball they’re just so well built with sabonis Fox is an elite star and then they just have so much shooting out there I mean ly’s hit five his first five threes you mentioned Keegan he didn’t have a very good game but he’s a

Very good player Harrison Barnes is an old Savvy vet so man they’re just a fun team to watch Mitchell comes in and defends Off the Bench um but uh yeah I got to use my 30-point deficit alert I have not retired that one I have retired the three-point shooter foul alert that

Happens twice a game uh yeah and I’m I’m kind of glad I retired it I got a little it got a little played out but I have not retired the 30o deficit alert and I was ready with that one and and fire that one that tweet off but you know you

Can look at that game two ways like yikes you fell behind by 30 or wow you pulled within the one possession game twice um it was a nice comeback it was actually a pretty entertaining game the crowd was into it um but what I want to do is spin it forward you cannot

Obviously fall behind by that much against an elite team and you know to me it’s a little bit different because Timberwolves are good on both sides of the ball but they’re an elite defensive team whereas the Kings obviously kind of get you with offense um so um you’ve gota you’ve got a really

Be on your on point with your with your offensive execution and you got to take care of the ball because Timberwolves will destroy you if you commit the turnovers that have played the Bulls recently and that’s how I would spend Saturday night forward the Bulls did not

Take care of the ball early they did better late and they need to do it from the jump against the Minnesota Timberwolves yeah um yeah to emphasize your point Minnesota’s defense is incredible um and so yeah they’re gonna have a real real tough Challenge on Tuesday they’re still number one in the

League aren’t they I can look it up real quick yeah uh Chris Finch was just named the uh Western no they’re number one in the league in terms of defensive rating right oh yes yes oh by a lot two 108 .2 and the Cavs are te 10 a second at 110.5

That’s insane man yes yeah their defense is like you’re if you like defense you’re in for a treat on Tuesday it’s not does not build well for the Bulls uh for that um yeah Finch is uh going to be coaching the Western Conference All-Star team announced by the NBA because

Essentially their rule is uh two weeks prior to the all-star game which was two weeks from yesterday the uh team that’s in first place in each conference their coach is the coach of the uh respective uh teams um what is interesting to me we still have not gotten an announcement

About the Eastern Conference no we have we have your scenario played out Doc Rivers is the Eastern Conference Co oh I missed that there you go by yeah it was actually a pretty uh big decent news story because he actually said I’m gonna give my bonus and my ring to Adrien

Griffin wow I missed that doc doc was like he said this is this is awful that was the quote he he was like kind of criticizing the league he said he talked to Silver about it and like didn’t said he didn’t it shouldn’t be so yeah it was

You your uh your scenario played out and uh if Adrien Griffin will accept Doc Rivers is going to be giving him his Allstar coaching bonus and his All-Star coaching ring so there you go it’s just it’s weird it is very weird it’s a weird situation especially because aren’t they

One and three since he took over they lost he’s G to have coached like six games and he’s going to be coaching the just the entire situation is just just odd I mean Doc is obviously extremely respected around the league um and it’s it’s not like this would be foreign to

Him um you know I believe he’s coached the All-Star game before um but it’s just a it’s a weird situation for for the entire NBA it’s weird for Adam Silver um you know I I wonder if they had considered other options for that but like the rules are very clear-cut on

This if you you if you’re first place your team your coaching staff coaches the All-Star team but you can’t do it two years in a row so missula and his staff last year for the Celtics coached the Eastern Conference they can’t coach it two years in a row it’s supposed to

Then go the next team which is now Milwaukee by half game over Cleveland um and so yeah I I I looked for that announcement so that’s uh it’s it’s my prediction has come to fruition there in that one it’s that’s certainly not a great situation uh for the league uh

Another not great situation for the league as we wrap up here is Joel embiid is going to have surgery uh and he is going to miss an indetermined amount of time significant time is how it’s been reported um they are not ruling him out for the uh duration of the entire season

Including playoffs however um his recovery timeline is likely to push him into the postseason and then at that point Philadelphia is going to have to make an organizational decision and be’s going to have to make a decision uh with his team and him his doctors on do you

Try and push it um my Approach would be to take the long-term approach with that and just rule him out the rest of the year just just say he’s done because you don’t want to go to back let’s go back 14 years now 13 years now uh with the

Bulls you do not want to have a situation in which things are open because as we saw saw with drik rose when all of a sudden you leave that door open questions start to come up and it got it got like the entirety of Derrick Rose’s tenure with the bulls we’ve had

We had some extreme Highs but the low point was when people started question if he wanted to play the game of basketball um to me and so like having gone through that as a as a bulls fan I think it would be very wise for the

Sixers just to go he is out he’s not going to come back he will return healthy in the 2024 2025 season because you don’t want to leave this IG ambiguity situation in April or May if they’re in the second round it’s like will Joel play will he not and then you

Then you kind of put the onus on the player yeah the difference is they they haven’t had the procedure yet so I mean that it sounds like they’re going to add some more clarity once he’s had the procedure and um but to your point I think think taking the big picture view

Is always best obviously it’s a huge blow for the Sixers because they were rolling and had you know certainly designs on coming out of the East where where it’s intriguing quickly from a bull’s aspect because I gotta get the practice but um what what what’s intriguing from a bulls angle is like

You know the Sixers always have been kind of a swing team because they could either kind of push their chips in before the deadline or they could wait till this summer um and and and have more flexibility and options to significantly improve their team they can be they’re cap space team draft

Capital Etc um you know I have not heard much scenario with Dem Mar rozan and a market there but you know if they want to try to if they think MB can come back and they want to try to keep things afloat do they call the Bulls and ask

For D rozan and Drummond you know Drummond obviously would be a great stop Gap until embiid comes back Drummond is drawing interest maybe they just do a Drummond deal separately and give the Bulls second round picks but I have I have the eyes in the Sixers in terms of

The Bulls between now and Thursday um but uh yeah it’s a huge blow for them and um I do think ultimately what will happen this is just my guess is that they will just kind of hold you know Keep Their Heads above water for this season write out the injury and then try

To make significant changes and use their flexibility this this offseason that’s kind of my guess as to where things go yeah and they’re starting to sink in the Eastern Conference too um down to fifth now um and so if they don’t want a first round matchup with um

Milwaukee or with Boston um you know they they need to kind of hold hold that position and maybe that makes sense you know certainly drumond and D rozan are both unrestricted are heading to unrestricted free agency so was it you though was it I can’t remember if it was

This podcast I did one other pod uh sorry I went I went outside the marriage and did one of their podcasts recently and someone said I can’t remember was you or somebody else who asked me is oh mb’s a lock for MVP right and I was like

You gotta hold on you gotta get that 65 game limit and I mean I don’t want to make light of a terrible situation we talked about that a few weeks ago yes like he I said I said you can’t give it to him yet I said there’s other people

That are having good seasons and you gotta wait and see how it plays out this is and especially with that 65 game rule there you go he will he’s going to be an eligible to be MVP yep so yeah and I think Shay guildas Alexander is now the

Odds on favorite um there’s that guy named yic is’s pretty good I know you can never rule him out he does lead the league in triple doubles um so a lot a lot to watch for around the NBA uh certainly to watch for the Bulls over

The next three days and and beyond that uh make sure you follow KC on Twitter X kcj hoop uh certainly we will be here at 2m Central on the Chicago Bulls uh Sports Chicago YouTube page with the streaming show we’re going to be at Cody’s on Thursday night a lot going on

This week we really appreciate it every time you watch our show on YouTube listen to all your podcasts wherever you find your podcasts uh we appreciate every time you leave a comment and and have a download uh this is a very very big week for the Bulls uh for KC I Kevin

This has been the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s Go Places Everybody by buckle down get your seat belts on let’s see if the Bulls nuke it from orbit they probably should they might uh have a great week everybody and go Bulls all right now that’s over I want

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On this edition of the Bulls Talk podcast, K.C. Johnson and Kevin Anderson react to the news that Zach LaVine will miss the rest of the season. They discuss how that could impact what the team does at the trade deadline, plus the latest rumors involving DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Andre Drummond. Will Bulls’ fans see ‘continuity’ for another season? Plus, the latest on Lonzo Ball’s recovery, the quirk in the NBA rules that has Doc Rivers coaching the Eastern Conference All-Stars, and how Joel Embiid’s injury might impact the Bulls

#ChicagoBulls #ZachLaVine #DeMarDeRozan

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How will Zach LaVine’s season-ending surgery impact what Bulls do at trade deadline
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18 Comments

  1. We are stuck with Zach so now we have to move DeMar because these two cannot be in the same lineup. Due to bird rights we will only have enough to resign Pat and DeMar, which means we are stuck with the same below average team. Deadline, move DeMar and Andre for expiring contracts and picks. Free up money for a decent free agent class next year. Move Vooch if possible.

  2. So frustrating that we have 60 million in dead money on the books and no draft capital.

  3. Analytics show that we are 24th in scoring and 14th in defense two years in a row. That is our ceiling.

  4. Next season we looking at a line up of Lonzo Coby Lavine Demar and Vooch man we gone get killed on the offensive board smh this team better not bring Demar or Zach back next season frfr

  5. With all the parity in the league, the playoffs r wide open. There's no team except Boston that's scary at the moment. This year we will see the most upsets in playoff history

  6. We haven't even been making the playoffs everyone's trying to skip steps with bold moves…look at Atlanta and Miami on both sides of it last year they snuck in and went to the finals so what are we really saying…you just don't believe and that won't ever win no matter who you think you can get

  7. Oh wow basketball hell is now when you make the playoffs??? Forgetting how many playoffs we've missed over the last 10 years…when your max contract player goes down and your team starts producing an over 500 record it doesn't seem as bad as some bulls fans try to make it. Patience little brother

  8. Thanks for giving facts and context. I know there’s a lot of narratives based upon personal opinions and feelings about Zach and not the specifics of the injury and I’m not saying we have that now. But many podcasts are driving narratives based on their feelings and frustrations on how the Bulls season is shaping out and quite frankly it seems that Zach has become the single scapegoat for the team’s lack of success…and many has jumped on that train and just want him out of town at any cost.

  9. I think the Lakers may attempt to acquire Demar, but the Bulls will probably over value him and a deal will not get made.

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