BREAKING (foot) NEWS: Zach LaVine to undergo season-ending surgery
BREAKING (foot) NEWS: Zach LaVine to undergo season-ending surgery
this friggin' team, man
As has been typical with Bulls injury news the past forever years, the impact starts small and then escalates extremely quickly. The team announced on Saturday afternoon that Zach LaVine is going to have season-ending surgery on his right foot.
And in another very-Bullsy way, this news was delivered oddly. They look to be distancing themselves in invoking LaVine’s agent as part of this decision. Soonafter they trotted out Billy Donovan (alone, again…why he’s responsible for giving these updates - like with Lonzo Ball just yesterday - is bizarre if not easily explained by AKME cowardice) to only further emphasize that this was LaVine making this decision.
This whole injury situation is colored in timing and tone by Zach’s trade request. I want to believe, if you’re a professional basketball player: having surgery on your foot is worse for a career than getting traded to the Pistons. But typing that out doesn’t make it seem so clear-cut…
Depending on one’s intrinsic skepticism, either LaVine is superlatively mercurial or he’s brittle. Neither designation is good for the Bulls plan of life without him.
They could still technically trade LaVine this week, though the return would clearly be even lower than before. Remember, though, that his value may still be even lower in the offseason, so I don’t want to let the front office off the hook for another do-nothing deadline.
This could adjust their plan on this season and the rest of the roster’s trade availability, but I’m not so sure about that either. With or without LaVine, they are destined to achieve their stated goal of being at 9th or 10th place and a competitive out.
(we now are all bracing ourselves for some similar update with Patrick Williams, and I think that actually would make the team KO the season)
I cynically (of course) think all this really changes is that it adds excuses.
Bulls FO breathing a sigh of relief now that they don't have to do anything except for makibf a plan for throwing Zach under the bus once he's traded sometime next season. I just knew this was coming when the Pistons trade rumors started to appear. There is no way in hell Zach would end up in Detroit
Maybe it's a cargo cult thing: the last time he had season-ending surgery he was traded!
Unrelated Theory: The introduction of the play-in round has snuffed out Jerry's preferred way of operating, which is to get as much playoff revenue as possible every season without going into the luxury tax. As we've seen in the past and especially in the Eastern Conference over the last two decades, you can half-ass your way into an 8th seed every year — a sub-.500 team basically just needs to win 7 of their last 10. Halfassing your way to 6 is a lot different. Getting as high as the 6th seed has been a pipedream for the last 2.5 seasons: you actually have to be trying, at least a little, to get HIGHER than 6 to get to 6. AIMING for 6 likely leaves you at 7, 8, 9 or 10 — and that's likely just one game of revenue, maybe none.
This team was introduced right when the play-in was, and ultimately it means his standing operating procedure since at least 2005 and probably earlier is now defunct. You actually have to be trying to win to be assured of playoff revenue now.