John Paxson, Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Chicago Bulls, announced Tuesday that newly acquired Zach LaVine will make his season debut for the Bulls on his bobble head night on Saturday. LaVine has been recovering from a left knee injury he sustained last season and he is expected to be on a minutes restriction of around 20 minutes.
Zach LaVine was acquired by Chicago in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves on draft night. Along with LaVine, the Bulls also received Kris Dunn and the 7th overall pick which they used to select Lauri Markkanen. Dunn and Markkanen are both having solid years and look like they could eventually lead this Bulls team back to the playoffs a few years down the road.
LaVine, still just 22 years old, is also expected to be in this young group of players to help the rebuild process. Last year with the Timberwolves, he averaged 18.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG in 47 games before getting injured. For his career, he is averaging 13.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 3.2 APG. He has shown glimpses of how good he could be and still has a couple of years to progress until he hits his prime.
If LaVine returns with the same athleticism that won him 2 slam dunk contests, a young core of Markkanen, Dunn, Bobby Portis, and LaVine could be very dangerous when they find their rhythm and chemistry.
