The hits just keep coming for Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine.
He and the team have agreed to seek out a new team for the two-time All-Star ahead of the trade deadline. But that has been difficult with LaVine’s market slow to develop amid, among other issues, concerns about his health.
He has a history of knee injuries and surgeries. He also missed 17 games this season with foot inflammation that required a PRP injection.
Now, a sprained ankle will keep him sidelined for another couple of weeks.
“Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is expected to miss at least one-to-two weeks with a right ankle sprain,” The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania reported in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on January 19. “LaVine underwent testing Friday suffering the injury in Thursday night’s win over Toronto and attempting to play through the sprain.”
LaVine suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Bulls’ win over Toronto. He did not start the fourth quarter and had to exit after just two minutes upon returning to the game.
Video of Zach LaVine rolling his right ankle at Toronto.
“I could tell when he got back in there that he wasn’t moving great,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said after the game, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. “I think he wanted to keep going. He could never get himself going.”
LaVine exited the contest with eight points on seven field goal attempts in 24 minutes.
He had taken a bit of a backseat since returning from the foot injury, focusing more on cutting and shooting off the catch, though that has not helped his trade value.
Zach LaVine Addresses Trade Rumors
“We’re winning,” LaVine said ahead of the Bulls’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 15, per NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson on January 19. “There’s nothing better than that.
“I don’t think about (trades) at all. Unless I get a call from my agent, it’s just another day at the office for me. I’m glad to be out here playing. I’ve been in trade talks for a long time, obviously. I think this year was bigger than years prior. But at the end of the day, it’s nothing new.”
LaVine has noted his familiarity with being in the rumor mill before.
The Bulls’ efforts have not stopped, though this isn’t likely to strengthen their position in trade negotiations.
Bulls Banged Up Ahead of Trade Deadline
While the Bulls need LaVine on the court to help boost his value for a potential trade, he isn’t the only player dealing with an injury. They just got Patrick Williams back from a two-game absence with a heel injury, and he is joined by several others on the injury report.
“Bulls also list Patrick Williams questionable and Ayo Dosunmu (left shoulder) and Andre Drummond (back spasm) probable,” Johnson wrote on X on January 19.
They are still without veteran forward Torrey Craig as well.
If there is a silver lining for the Bulls, it is that they went 10-7 when LaVine went down earlier in the season with the foot injury. That still won’t increase their ability to find a trade they deem fair enough before the deadline.
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Bulls’ Zach LaVine Gets Brutal Update Amid Trade Rumors