Chicago Bulls believe that Zach LaVine is healthy and will help the team compete next season

Chicago Bulls star guard Zach LaVine missed much of the 2023-24 season due to injury troubles, but Bulls executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas had some interesting things to say about the 29-year-old recently.

“We expect Zach being fully healthy. And he is healthy. I think he can help this group next year. He’s been professional,” Karnišovas said. “Again, he’s healthy. We expect him to be with us at the start of training camp.”

It’s interesting to hear that Karnišovas is very confident about LaVine helping the team this coming season. For months, the two-time All-Star has been involved in trade rumors, but the market for his services appears to be nonexistent.

He has gained a reputation of being injury-prone, and it seems like many don’t want to take on his massive deal (at least two more years of more than $40 million each left).

A troubling 2023-24 season for LaVine

Apr 5, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) sits on the bench in street clothes during the first quarter at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Last season was a bit of a nightmare for LaVine, who only appeared in 25 games and averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while making 45.2 percent of his shots from the field and 34.9 percent of his attempts from deep.

For context, he played in 77 games the season before, recording 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range.

It was undoubtedly tough for LaVine last season, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be effective for the Bulls or another team. There are plenty of teams across the league that could use his scoring ability.

One team is the Miami Heat, but they likely don’t want to take on his contract since they have so much money tied up to different players already.

Only time will tell where LaVine ends up for this coming season, but what’s certain is that he’s likely looking to remind fans what he’s capable of.

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