Getty Zach LaVine
The Chicago Bulls‘ Zach LaVine is one of the hardest-working players in the NBA during the offseason. LaVine and well-known trainer Drew Hanlen have been putting in work in preparation for the 2020-21 NBA season.
Take one look at LaVine in a brief video Hanlen posted to his Twitter account and you’ll see LaVine has added some notable muscle to his frame.
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Zach Puts in Work
If you’ve paid any attention LaVine’s offseason workouts over the past few seasons, you know he goes hard on his craft after the season is over. Unfortunately for LaVine, his team’s seasons have always ended without reaching the playoffs.
It seems LaVine is as determined as ever to change that this season. One of the issues he had as a young player was a lack of physical strength. As he’s matured physically and taken advantage of strength and conditioning programs, LaVine has begun to fill out his frame.
Take a look at him in the aforementioned video from Hanlen’s Twitter page:
One of the world’s best just keeps getting better… @ZachLaVine
I can tell you from seeing up close earlier this year around the All-Star break in Chicago, LaVine’s shoulders didn’t look nearly as broad as they do here, and it appears to be the kind of lean athletic muscle that is wanted on the basketball court.
Another thing that is apparent is that LaVine’s workouts seem to be geared toward the guard absorbing and driving through traffic. This requires core strength and some push in the lower body. LaVine could have easily been an All-Star this past year, and it appears he’s pushing hard to reach that goal and more in the 2020-21 NBA season.
Bulls Have Tons of Guards
Lavine is at the head of the class, but the Bulls do have a ton of guards on their roster. There’s starting point guard Coby White, Tomas Satoransky, the newly signed Garrett Temple, Ryan Arcidiacono, Denzel Valentine, Adam Mokoka, and undrafted free-agent rookie Devon Dotson. Needless to say, all of those guys and LaVine will not be on the roster when the season begins on December 22.
It will be interesting to see how new head coach Billy Donovan works this out with this group, and if LaVine is indeed a Bull for the entire season.
LaVine Trade Rumors Won’t Go Away
According to multiple reports, LaVine’s name was brought up constantly as teams called the Bulls to check on his availability. To this point, the Bulls rebuffed offers to move the 25-year-old, but that doesn’t mean things will remain that way all year.
In a recent interview that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, LaVine talked about those trade rumors:
Anybody can get traded on any team and anybody can go anywhere just like injuries can happen to everybody. So, as long as I’m on this team, I’m gonna continue to put my input and try to be a leader and show what type of guy I am and what my value is. While you’re on this team, you have to be all-in. So I’ve been all-in since the first day I’ve been here. I really like Chicago, but you know, if something were to happen, obviously I’m not a resentful person, I understand the business of basketball and I keep moving forward.
If the Bulls get off to a slow start or struggle to find chemistry, I could imagine the Bulls listening to offers for him, and that’s especially if a team is willing to send an expiring deal along with a young promising player(s) and draft assets.
If the Bulls don’t elect to send LaVine elsewhere, he is eligible for an extension. Hopefully, the Bulls show promise and results early, and LaVine can be locked up as a cornerstone moving forward.