Bulls’ Message on Losing for Top Pick Unchanged: No Tanks

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Bulls star Zach LaVine

The Bulls exist in perhaps the most unforgiving geographical environment.

And this has nothing to do with the harsh reality that is Chicago in winter.

Rather, the Bulls currently reside in the NBA‘s middle earth — not good enough to compete for a championship, and not bad enough to plumb the depths and stand a greater chance for an ultra-high draft pick.

Moreover, the club will not be able to keep its first round choice unless it falls in the top 10 (a remnant of the DeMar DeRozan trade in August of 2021). The Bulls do have a first rounder from Portland, but that’s protected 1-14.

In other words, Chicago’s chances of scooping up someone like Cooper Flagg next June are about as good as hitting a halfcourt shot … from a gym two blocks away.

After taking down the defending champion Celtics in Boston Thursday night, the Bulls stand at a thoroughly mediocre 13-15 leading into the weekend. There’s far too much road to travel between now and the end of the regular season, but that record has them ninth in the Eastern Conference, which would get them a play-in game.

The best way they could enhance their lottery position without turning into the Harlem Globetrotter foil Washington Generals would be a form of success by subtraction. Moving players of value for future assets could weaken the squad now but improve it down the line.

Explosive wing Zach LaVine is a hot name in the rumor mill, and no doubt head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has to at least listen to offers.

But coach Billy Donovan made it clear in Boston that whoever takes the floor in a Chicago uniform will be playing to win. There will be no creative tanking once the ball bounces.

Bulls Are ‘A Good Team’: Zach LaVine

LaVine supported that notion after the win over the Celtics, who will complete the home-and-home set Saturday night in Chicago.

“One thing, as players and from what I know about Billy, we’re very competitive,” LaVine said. “Players and coaches never tank. That’s just not going to happen. We’re a good team.

“From all the predictions early on in the year, like, we’re better than what people predicted us to be off the talent we have here. We’re competitive, man. You go out there and play like we did, we can beat anybody.”

Donovan insisted that has been and will always be the goal.

“One thing I respect about the organization, and this was even in the summer from exit interviews, meetings and this like that, is I think collectively inside the organization there is an expectation about the integrity of competition and to go out there and put our best foot forward,” the coach said. “Certainly we have things we’re trying to overcome. We’ve had some injuries, we’ve had size differential, we’ve played four guards, we’ve had certainly some defensive challenges.

“But everything has been about going out and keeping the integrity of competition. Nothing has ever been said about, hey, listen, we’ve got to keep this pick, so, you know, do this, this and this. That has not happened. And I respect that as a coach. I feel like everything that we’re doing each and every day is, how do we put these guys, how do we put ourselves in the best position to compete in the league? I appreciate that part of it. That’s kind of always what we’ve tried to do since I’ve been here.”

Billy Donovan Intent on Not Tanking

For fans of the team has had just one playoff appearance since 2017 — that a first round loss — the idea of taking the medicine, drifting toward the bottom and doing a more involved, rather than patchwork, rebuild — might seem palatable at this point.

“People can have their opinions on that stuff, and I understand that — what should or shouldn’t be done,” Donovan said. “But I think my first year, there was a lot of talk about a potential pick, and ‘we just need to lose games’ and that kind of stuff. I just don’t think that organizationally from top ownership down to Arturas that that’s ever been how I’ve ever been given a message on. And that’s really hard.

“That would be very, very difficult for me personally to walk in front of a locker room and be like, let’s pretend. I think we’re trying to put our best foot forward. Like I’ve said, there’s things we’ve got to get better at. There’s things we’ve got to improve upon, how good we can be. I still think there is room for growth. I think we’ve made some strides in some areas.

“But each and every day, we’re going out there trying to compete to the best of our ability.”