When the Bulls decided to undertake a full rebuild by trading Jimmy Butler, they needed someone who not only could play well on the court but represent the franchise well off it.
The Bulls are lucky to have Zach LaVine.
Despite not making Sunday’s NBA All-Star game, the Bulls’ best player put on his best face Saturday morning at Wintrust Arena as he addressed a horde of reporters in advance of his 3-point shootout appearance.
He adeptly fielded questions about the chants from frustrated fans to fire management during his Friday appearence on ESPN’s “First Take” program. He donned his competitor mask by not ruling out a playoff push. And he talked confidently about his chances not only Saturday night but in reaching All-Star status one day.
“You guys know I’m pretty good with the media and being able to move around that,” LaVine said about the fans’ chants to fire management. “I don’t speak for the fans. Obviously, I think the fans in Chicago have been frustrated. But you guys know me personally, I’m with the team. I’m the one who puts on the uniform and I step in front of the fans and do my job.
“I know Chicago fans get rowdy too. It is what it is. Things happen in the spur of the moment. You just have to deal with it. I appreciate the fans who have stayed loyal. Me personally, I appreciate all the fans who support me and come each game. I feel like I’m somebody they can trust and somebody who puts the work in. I don’t care if we’re down 100 or up 100. You’re going to get the same reaction from me, the same determination to try to win. We’re trying to win. You know me personally. I want to do nothing but win.”
The Bulls’ underwhelming season played one part in why LaVine didn’t make Sunday’s All-Star game as a coach’s reserve selection. Nevertheless, LaVine entered the All-Star break on a high note, posting a 30- and 40-point game as the Bulls’ losing streak hit six games.
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“For me personally, just to keep the foot on the gas pedal. You never know what’s going to happen. I’m always somebody who looks at the glass half-full. We’re not out of the playoffs yet,” LaVine said, when asked for his goals for the final 27 games. “As a team, we have to come back focused. We can’t be on vacation mode yet. Sometimes you come out the break, teams go up or down. Hopefully we’ll be one of the teams that go up.
“If you’re not confident in yourself or your team, you already lost the battle. Whenever I play, regardless of what the result is, I think we’re going to win. If you don’t have that approach as a competitor, what are you playing for? Obviously, I’m going out there to win.”
LaVine isn’t just dealing with an All-Star snub. He also wasn’t one of 44 players invited to USA Basketball camp for participation in the 2020 Olympics.
“I think they went with guys who have been part of Team USA before. There are a lot of guys who were left off and deserving. That’s their decision. I think I made my case for a lot of things to be on it. But I’m not the one picking,” he said. “Am I frustrated or disappointed? I wouldn’t say frustrated. I think it’s just a little more fuel to the fire. They had their reasons for picking their guys. It is what it is. It’s not going to stop what I represent.”
LaVine is vying to become the first player in All-Star game history to win both the slam dunk and 3-point contests. A two-time winner in 2015 and 2016 of the dunk contest, speculation of a late entry swirled Friday when a leaked video of LaVine attempting a 360-degree dunk from the free-throw line at the Bulls’ practice facility went viral.
“It wasn’t even supposed to go viral, man. I got mad at my friend. He was with me recording,” LaVine said. “I was just messing around, trying to see what I still had and what I could do. It was just in good fun. I was practicing some stuff after I got done shooting.”
LaVine then acknowledged existence of a video of him completing the seemingly impossible dunk.
“It’s on YouTube somewhere. Andrew Wiggins recorded it when I was in Minnesota. You’ll actually see Kris Dunn in the video,” LaVine said. “I made one. I just wanted to see if I still had it. I got pretty close on my first attempt. I could probably make it still.”
LaVine has dealt with plenty this season, from not making his publicy stated goal of playing in the All-Star game to all the Bulls’ losing. And still he soldiers on, playing at a high level, representing the franchise with class and strong play.
“I’ve been able to deal with ups and downs really well this year, like a roller coaster. I feel I’ve been able to be pretty even keeled and not get too high on the highs or too low on the lows and just lock in and be prepared for each game,” he said. “There’s negativity and positivity that’s been going around the city for a long time. I think it’s a little bit more magnified now because it’s All-Star weekend.
"That doesn’t change who I am or what I do or what I stand for. I’m still Zach LaVine. I play for the Bulls so I have to represent myself and them.”
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