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The Chicago Bulls (10-15) host the Charlotte Hornets (7-17) Friday night in what should be at least a two-possession win on paper. However, Chicago's injuries open the door for an upset loss.
While Zach Lavine (back) is probable, Nikola Vucevic (illness), Josh Giddey (back), and Patrick Williams (foot) are all questionable, via the NBA injury report.
The Hornets, though, aren't any better off, as superstar LaMelo Ball (calf) is out while Miles Bridges (knee) is questionable.
The Bulls need Lavine and Vucevic back at full strength as soon as possible, as they're first and second on the squad in scoring, respectively. Lavine leads with 22.1 points per game on 50.6% shooting, while Vucevic averages 21 points on a 58.7% clip. The latter veteran also tops the team with 9.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per contest.
That's not to mention Giddey, who's Chicago's top facilitator with 6.9 assists per game.
While the Bulls are positioned for a Play-In spot at 10th in the Eastern Conference, they could use a strong Lavine performance for a reason other than winning.
Bulls need Zach Lavine to increase trade value
While Lavine is a fine player, he's keeping Chicago in no-man's land. The team is too good to get a lottery pick, but not good enough to contend for a championship.
Trading the 29-year-old for draft capital would help the organization rebuild, but his contract and injury history make him hard to move, via ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
“LaVine has $89 million on his contract for this season and next and then has a $49 million player option for 2026-27 — plus a history of knee injuries. The Bulls have found those factors have largely frozen the market on him,” Windhort wrote. “With all of the new layers of restrictions affecting team building, trading for a player with a $40-plus million annual salary is complicated at best for most teams. LaVine, regardless of his fine play and 22 points-per-game scoring average, is stuck in a holding pattern.”
The only way for Chicago to get out of this trap is for Lavine to play so well that he becomes irresistible to playoff contenders despite his drawbacks. An eye-popping performance against a weak Charlotte team would be one small step toward that goal.
