It's that point in the season where it would be wiser for teams which have a losing record to raise their chances of acquiring a top pick in the upcoming NBA draft. One effective way to do this in the NBA is to sit out your star player, and in the case of the Chicago Bulls, it's Zach LaVine.
However, it seems that the play-in tournament has changed the behavior of teams like the Bulls. While it's admirable that they're trying to integrate a winning culture into the team, there are clear long-term benefits of tanking. With that said, let's try to explore why the Bulls need to stop the foolishness and sit out Zach LaVine.
As of writing, the Bulls have won three games in a row and are sitting on the 11th spot in the East, one spot shy from qualifying to the play-in tournament. They have a very slim chance at making it though, being three and a half games behind the Indiana Pacers. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors have lost three in a row and have slipped to the 12th spot. Though the NBA has tweaked its lottery rules to discourage tanking, the rules of the game are still the same: the closer you are to the bottom of the standings, the better.
The Raptors understand these rules perfectly. The fact that they're sitting out star guard Kyle Lowry is an indication that the team is not just protecting his health, but also looking to move down the standings to boost their chances in the draft lottery. If the Bulls win their final games of the regular season, this could mean losing two to three spots in the lottery. And we all know how critical a lottery pick is in changing the direction of an organization.
The 2021 NBA Draft class looks promising with the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Johnson, and a whole lot more. As a rebuilding team, the Bulls could use a young talent to beef up their squad. Yes, they still have to teach the young gun the ways of the league. But there's a pretty good chance it'll benefit them in the long run.
So why are the Bulls still playing their hearts out? Why are they still fielding LaVine, who has a 30.1 percent usage rate for 15thth in the league, when they could just let him rest to avoid any injuries? A good reason is to simply light the competitive fire within the organization. Last season, when the NBA integrated the play-in tournament, it sparked very competitive and high-octane games. Even the games to qualify for the play-in were in themselves pretty exciting and revealing.
A good example would be the Phoenix Suns who went 8-0 in the bubble. Their performance was not enough to make the playoffs but look at where the team stands now: kings of the West with and are the top favorites to make a deep postseason run. This could be one of the major reasons why the Bulls are still gunning for a play-in spot despite the odds stacked against them.
Another reason lies in the March trade with the Orlando Magic that got them Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu. To recall, the Bulls sent out Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter, and two future first-round picks. Reports reveal that the 2021 pick has top-four protection and thus, the Bulls need to make the playoffs to ensure the Magic don't get to benefit from it.
The trade with the Magic has put the Bulls in a strange dilemma. If they don't make the playoffs, then they'll see the Magic feast on their draft pick. But this isn't the end of the world for the Bulls. Top picks are great but they don't immediately guarantee success. Instead, the Bulls should focus on what they need to win. There's an apparent weakness in Vucevic's interior defense. So why not explore other options to beef up that department?
And again, why not look at LaVine's playing history again to see that the last time he played a full season was in his second year in the league? The ACL tear seems a lifetime ago but LaVine has missed several games because of other injuries. The team should know better than given LaVine's athletic playstyle, he's more susceptible to injuries. Besides, the team has already surpassed last year's 22-win season with 29 wins this season. Progress doesn't just happen overnight. They should view the 2020-21 NBA season as a little victory and not another failure to make the playoffs.
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