Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls will not be one of the 22 teams participating in the resumption of the 2019-20 season at Walt Disney World in Orlando. With that, the two-time Slam Dunk champion says the Windy City franchise has to change their identity moving forward.
LaVine, who is Chicago's leading scorer this campaign, admitted that it's ultimately up to the players on the court to lead the franchise back to the promised land, via Sam Smith of Bulls.com:
“I think it starts with us as players,” Zach LaVine said in deferring questions about coach or management responsibility for the Bulls' record.
“We're the ones on the court. Obviously, they're going to go out there and do their job and do the best they can and work their butt off. But we have to continue to go out there and grow as well. We can't continue to make the same mistakes. We have to change our identity and how we're looked at as a team to become a winning culture. We had high expectations for this year coming into the year and it wasn't anything like that. I think we competed extremely well. I think we're one of the hardest playing teams in the NBA. But you need that W. We've got to get better.”
LaVine and the Bulls only had 22 wins before the 2019-20 season was suspended in March. Chicago had 43 losses and a winning percentage of 33.8.
For his part, LaVine averaged 25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Bulls in 60 games. He shot 45.0 percent from the field, 38.0 percent from beyond the arc and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line.
LaVine has the right mindset moving forward. It doesn't matter that the Bulls have a new front office in place and are likely going to get a new head coach as well. At the end of the day, players win games in the NBA.
Follow Us
Subscribe