For Zach LaVine, the last two weeks have been defined by one thing — not the latest round of trade rumors, but an injury to his right foot.
The Chicago Bulls star guard will be sidelined a week with a right foot sprain he incurred during a home game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 20. That means he will likely miss Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, next Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets and a road game against the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 8.
LaVine continued to attempt to play through the injury, but has never fully recovered. He sat out a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 22, then played the following two road games before being yanked early in a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics and sat out last night’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
When he did play, LaVine’s mobility appeared to be inconsistently limited. He scored 13 points in each of the Heat games, then turned around and dropped 36 points in his return against the Toronto Raptors. In Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics, LaVine went 1-for-9 from the field and scored two points before he was pulled.
“It felt a little better and just progressively got worse,” LaVine said after the game in Boston. “It just didn’t make sense to continue to risk it. It hurts. When you suit up, no one cares about that. I’ve played through a lot of stuff before. But it didn’t make sense with the way it was feeling to keep going.”
This is a critical period for both LaVine and the Bulls, who at 6-14 are mired in one of their worst 20-game starts to a season in the last decade.
LaVine has struggled with his fair share of injuries, including a knee injury that impeded him throughout the end of the 2021-22 season and the start of the 2022-23 season. He was eager to enter this year fully fit and unencumbered by injury. Instead, he’s been hindered by a shooting slump that has affected the entire Bulls roster.
The stakes are even higher as LaVine and the Bulls continue to pursue a potential trade. LaVine’s resume remains strong as a maximum contract star, but front offices aren’t immune to recency bias. As the opening of the trade market in mid-December approaches, it’s in LaVine’s best interest to be healthy and high-performing.
And in the short-term, the Bulls need their stars. The team snapped a five-game losing streak Thursday without both LaVine and DeMar DeRozan (left ankle), but that’s not sustainable for this team to turn around a .300 start.