The weather is cooling off and trade rumors are heating up in Chicago.
Will Zach LaVine remain a Bull for much longer? And how will the front office approach the rest of the season if a rebuild is imminent?
Plus, men’s college basketball and the NBA in-season tournament make their return to the United Center this week.
Every Wednesday throughout the season, Tribune writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Bulls, Sky and local basketball.
Interest in a Zach LaVine trade rises
NBA teams are reportedly voicing interest in Zach LaVine once again — and for the first time, both the Bulls and their maximum contract star are interested in hearing out potential deals.
According to a report by The Athletic on Tuesday, teams have begun to explore the possibility of securing a trade for LaVine. Conversations could be aided by the convenience of the men’s college basketball Champions Classic, which is already bringing many general managers to Chicago this week. The Bulls have floated trade opportunities for LaVine in the past; but according to The Athletic report, LaVine is also potentially interested in a move, a first for the guard since he arrived in Chicago.
For the past seven years, LaVine has lived up to most expectations as the centerpiece in Chicago, leading the team in scoring and earning two All-Star selections. But his tenure with the Bulls has not been successful. LaVine has played in only four playoff games in his entire career, taking the Bulls to the first round in 2022 before crashing out of the play-in tournament last year.
LaVine has been pragmatic about the stakes of this season since opening day. He knows this is the last chance to prove the two-and-a-half-year-long project centered on himself, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic can be a viable path to playoff success for the Bulls. He knows he’s the best trade asset on the roster. And he knows this isn’t the first time his name has landed in the trade rumor mill, a constant in his career that has only skyrocketed after he signed a max contract in 2022.
As the Bulls struggle to find early wins this season, LaVine tried not to focus on any trade speculation.
“I’ve been traded before,” LaVine told the Tribune. “Trades are just part of the business and guys get shuffled around every year. I’ve been in trade talks since I’ve been here for some reason. I feel like I’ve held up my end of the bargain in my commitment to the Bulls, but there’s not a lot you can do with rumors and people putting your name in trade talks.”
But if the Bulls can’t snap out of this early slump, it’s clear pressure will only mount ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
College basketball returns to the United Center
Four of the heaviest hitters in men’s college basketball descended on Chicago this week to participate in the State Farm Champions Classic at the United Center on Tuesday: No. 9 Duke against No. 18 Michigan State, followed by No. 1 Kansas against No. 17 Kentucky.
All four teams are stocked with projected top NBA draft picks including Duke’s Tyrese Proctor, Kansas guard Elmarko Jackson and Kentucky’s Justin Edwards and Aaron Bradshaw.
Duke entered the night 3-1 against Tom Izzo’s Spartans when playing in the Champions Classic. It’s the second season at the helm for Jon Scheyer, the former Glenbrook North star and Mr. Illinois Basketball 2006 who took over the Blue Devils after the retirement of Mike Krzyzewski. The team, featuring Proctor and ACC preseason player of the year sophomore Kyle Filipowski, lost to then-No. 9 Arizona on Friday and looked to rebound with a statement win.
After an opening night upset loss to James Madison, Michigan State entered Tuesday 2-for-31 from the 3-point line. After the departure of 3-point shooter Joey Hauser, the Spartans looked to returning guards A.J. Hoggard, Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins to pick up the struggling offense.
After a messy first half that featured 10 turnovers by the Blue Devils and 9 by the Spartans, offensive issues continued as Michigan State shot 31.6% from beyond the arc. Duke was 24-for-30 from the free-throw line. Freshman Caleb Foster led the Blue Devils with 18 points and three rebounds in the 74-65 win.
While the first game had some empty seats, the crowd filled in for the second game and the energy in the United Center shifted in a big way. The green of Michigan State fans remained, but the blues of Kentucky and Kansas (and a little Duke) took over. There were some famous faces in the crowd: NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, Chicago Bulls and Duke alum Luol Deng and Mike Dunleavy Jr., NBA veteran and Kentucky alum John Wall, and 2019 U.S. Open golf champ and Kansas alum Gary Woodland.
Kentucky and Kansas, the top two winningest programs in men’s college basketball history, were tied 2-2 in the Classic before Tuesday’s matchup. Both teams opened the 2023 season 2-0 with blowout wins and were looking for their first real test.
In their first two games, Kansas made 10 or more 3s and scored a total of 188 points due to fast play and athleticism. Coming into Tuesday, Hunter Dickinson, one of the best big men in the country, led the Jayhawks in scoring with 19.5 points per game and rebounding at 8.0 per game. The team returned starters in KJ Adams Jr., Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr.
Kentucky was 3-2 under head coach John Calipari against No. 1-ranked teams and entered the matchup shorthanded. Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso are out with foot injuries and Zvonimir Ivi ic awaits clearance from the NCAA.
Kentucky and Kansas played at a high pace with the Wildcats leading 48-41 at the half. Kentucky led by as many as 14 in the second half but Kansas mounted a comeback. With less than three minutes in the game, the Jayhawks went on a 9-0 run and took the 89-84 win. Dickinson led all scorers with a 27-point, 21-rebound double-double.
This was the fourth time the Champions Classic had been hosted at the United Center and the first time since 2017.
Bulls return to In-Season Tournament play
The Bulls will host their second game of In-Season Tournament group play on Friday against the Orlando Magic. After losing to the Brooklyn Nets in their first game of the group stage, the Bulls now risk sinking to the bottom of Eastern Conference Group C if they drop a consecutive loss.
Eastern Conference Group C consists of five teams: the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Magic, Nets and Bulls. The Magic lost to the Nets, 124-104, in their first group stage game Tuesday.
The top team of the group and one wild card team from the entire Eastern Conference will advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The Bulls will need to outpace the Celtics and the Nets — each of whom won their opening group stage game — to vie for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Number of the week: 21.8
The Bulls don’t rank among the top 5 teams in the league in most statistical categories after a 4-7 start to the season. But they’ve dominated in one area of both offense and defense: points off turnovers (21.8).
The defense has wreaked havoc, especially around the perimeter, to generate 17.2 opponent turnovers per game (fourth-best in the league). This is fueled by steals created by a range of players from smaller guards like Alex Caruso to backup center Andre Drummond.
This is important for the Bulls as one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league. Points off turnovers make up nearly 20% of the team’s total scoring production currently, a crucial backbone as players continue to collectively shoot below their career averages.
Week ahead: Bulls
Wednesday: vs. Orlando Magic, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
Thursday: OFF
Friday: vs. Orlando Magic (In-Season Tournament), 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
Saturday: vs. Miami Heat, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
Sunday: OFF
Monday: vs. Miami Heat, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
What we’re reading this morning
No. 4 Marquette men beat No. 23 Illinois 71-64 behind 24 points from Tyler Kolek
Column: Can the Bulls break the mold of the city’s sports futility this winter?
No. 23 Illinois women rally late but fall just short in a 71-67 loss to Marquette
Candace Parker opens up on playing career and personal life in new documentary on ESPN
This week in Chicago history
Nov. 15, 1996: Space Jam is released
It was the first feature film for Michael Jordan, who teamed up with his sometimes commercial co-star Bugs Bunny, this time in the Warner Bros. movie. Jordan, as himself, helped Bugs and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang foil a kidnap plot by a band of outer space creatures.
“My kids wanted me to do it,” Jordan told the Tribune in 1995. “It’ll give me the opportunity to play myself. If I can’t play myself, I can’t play no one else.”
Film critic Gene Siskel gave MJ’s star turn three-and-a-half stars, writing “Michael’s assets as a film star are many. He is great-looking; his eyes sparkle, and he has a star aura. All that holds him back from establishing a career is script selection.”
The movie earned more than $90 million at the domestic box office and $230 million worldwide. And merchandising brought in more than $1 billion in retail sales.
The movie also starred Bulls fan Bill Murray. “People forget I got the assist on the game-winning basket,” he said. “It’s so easily forgotten. I stole the ball. I made the pass. Nothing. I don’t even get interviewed after.”
Murray said during breaks in filming Jordan and fellow basketball great Larry Bird would pass the time by leaving the Warner Bros. lot to slip in a few holes of golf.
Nov. 20, 1984: Simeon basketball star Ben Wilson is shot twice during his lunch period and died the next morning of his wounds.
“It’s just so empty. There’s no way I can explain this feeling. I’ll never see my baby again,” his mother Mary Wilson said.
At a memorial service in the Simeon gym, school officials and community activists asked students to learn from Wilson’s death.
“When will it end?” Simeon principal Ned McCray asked, referring to the gun violence. “When men stand up and say, ‘Young men, no more. No more.'”
Wilson grew his legend helping the Wolverines win the Class AA state championship and finish the 1983-84 season with a 30-1 record. But it was during the 1984 offseason when his reputation skyrocketed. The Tribune declared Illinois high school basketball’s Class of 1985, Wilson’s class, to be “one for the books — perhaps the best graduating class in state history.”
Derrick Rose wore No. 25 while being compared to Wilson when he played for Simeon. Nick Anderson, a member of the University of Illinois’ 1989 Final Four team and later an NBA star with the Orlando Magic, wore No. 25 throughout his career.
Anderson was a close friend and had transferred to Simeon at Wilson’s urging right before the 1984-85 season.
“I can remember that summer that I transferred, we spent the whole summer together — playing ball, hanging out, going to movies,” Anderson said in 2009. “We just became so close. He was a brother to me.”
Quotable
“It’s his mentality. He’s a hard worker who’s going to do everything he can. He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t even want to call him a role player, but just a guy that you can plug with any lineup and he’s going to make the right reads, the right plays on the defensive and offensive side. The Bulls are lucky to have him.” — Kevin Durant on Bulls guard Alex Caruso
