A Wolves' fans thoughts on LaVine and Dunn.

[Chi town]

That's the problem with lavine, with this knee injury he won't be as athletic as he was before. Also like rose he might now think twice before going hard into the lane as he used to. Felt bad for him then but never did I think our bulls would have to deal with him and his recovery.I really hope he bounces back and plays like before,at this point we need him. Rose just scarred us for life after what happened to him.

The difference between Rose and Lavine is their 3-pt shot. I think that makes a huge difference on how you recover from knee injuries especially if you were super-athletic as Rose/Lavine. Rose just could not make an impact without going to the basket every time he has the ball because his 3 pt shot never developed. When you can balance out your driving and shooting, it puts less pressure on the knees/game.

Plus, Rose probably put too much pressure on himself to be the MVP type and it backfired when his shot/knee didn't co-operate. IMO, the biggest curse for Rose was winning an MVP so early in his career unlike almost anyone in the history of the NBA. If he was just a regular young developing kid like Lavine, the pressure on him would have been very less after 2012.

Rose just couldn't handle the mental pressure when his physical game didn't adjust to the injury. And, unfortunately for him, more injuries happened to completely screw him up.

Great post.

[RSP83]

That is very worrisome of Lavine. If he solely relies on athletic ability, this brings us back to the downward trend of Rose. Everyone loves to remember pre-ACL tear Rose and his god given athletic abilities. After that first ACL injury he was never the same. He could not spin, cut or accelerate like before which were the attributes that elevated his game above his peers.

Luckily that is not what LaVine solely relies upon. Silky smooth jumper with deep range is where he makes his money.

Lavine is the type of athletic player that will age gracefully. He's a lot like Jamal Crawford in his ability to score in bunches from the perimeter. He's nothing like Rose. He also doesn't carry as much bulk as Rose. And I agree that Lavine probably won't fall into the same mental pitfall that happened with Rose. Lavine is still playing for the next contract and he will be playing like he has nothing to lose. Rose otoh was set and he played like he has everything to lose.

[sh0ck]

I hope the people worried about Zach LaVine's ACL injury aren't the same people that wanted to draft Harry Giles and OG Annouby this year.

[Tetlak]

Please stop the hysteria.

It's 2017.

Recovering from an ACL injury, especially as a 21 year old, is not a death sentence. He'll be just as athletic.

[jacoby1us]

Please stop the hysteria.

It's 2017.

Recovering from an ACL injury, especially as a 21 year old, is not a death sentence. He'll be just as athletic.

Please tell that to Jabari and Derrick. They both suffered second ACL tears after returning from initial ACL tears. Hoping for the best but being realistic as well.

[Crazy-Canuck]

That is very worrisome of Lavine. If he solely relies on athletic ability, this brings us back to the downward trend of Rose. Everyone loves to remember pre-ACL tear Rose and his god given athletic abilities. After that first ACL injury he was never the same. He could not spin, cut or accelerate like before which were the attributes that elevated his game above his peers.

He's an athletic guy, but he rarely used that athleticism outside of leaking in transition. He is someone that tends to shy away from contact.

So, I think his recovery will be just fine. I don't think his game will change much. He'll continue to use that silky smooth stroke to rain 3's.

[MissileMike]

We're just gun shy on ACL recovery because of Rose. If you look around the league, most players who tear their ACL come back just fine. And by all accounts, LaVine's not a mental midget like Derrick. He's also just turned 22- actually younger than Dunn.

Most?

He was a bad defender before the injury, and now he's gonna be a worse defender after the ACL -- I guarantee it.

He has very low all-star potential because he's going to be a 1-way player.

Yes, most. Derrick was the exception. His contract is going to be a bigger problem than his knee.

[GRADEN]

20-22-23

LM - ZL - KD ages

At least we start over young

[Midw35t]

Please stop the hysteria.

It's 2017.

Recovering from an ACL injury, especially as a 21 year old, is not a death sentence. He'll be just as athletic.

Please tell that to Jabari and Derrick. They both suffered second ACL tears after returning from initial ACL tears. Hoping for the best but being realistic as well.

It's easy to find the exception vs. the rule.

The majority of players recover just fine and do not suffer second ACL tears.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Biggest concern I would have for you guys is his contact situation. He'll probably be earning more than Butler next year on close to a 4 or 5 year max (20 + mill per year).

As player, I think he'll put up big numbers with the amount of time he will be able to play with the ball and come back physically as strong as ever.

[BullsFTW]

I think you guys will be pleasantly surprised with both LaVine (when healthy) and Dunn. I'm personally very torn on this trade, as I was a huge advocate for the potential of both these players, and thought their development would be a huge plus for us contending when GSW and LeBron declined. They are almost the perfect compliments in the backcourt, and you now can control them for 5 and 7 years respectively.

LaVine has one of the smoothest shots in the NBA, just you wait. He gets his shot off with zero effort, and is a prime candidate to join the 50/40/90 club sooner rather than later. He will be a top 3pt shooter in this league, no doubt about it. His decision making/playmaking and defense definitely need some work, but he is only 21 years old. His ball handling is great, his athleticism is and still will be top notch. This allows him to attack the basket with ease, which will only improve as his BBIQ does. The guy is calm under pressure, and not afraid of taking the big shots. Maybe most importantly is his work ethic. All reports shine a light on LaVine being a gym rat, an active community member, and a stand-up dude. You'll be glad you have him.

As for Dunn, I wanted him last draft and I still love his potential. I do not believe he received a fair shake this season. Thibs kept him on a very tight leash, which combined with spot minutes, did not allow Dunn to develop as much as he could have. If we moved Rubio and handed the reigns over to Dunn then I firmly believe he would have won last year's ROY. Sure, he made some mistakes, but he also had numerous flashes of a top talent. His ball handling and decision making do need to improve, but I am of the opinion that he tried (and was almost forced) to do too much because he had so few chances to make an impression. Give him the starting job, let him take his lumps, and I believe he will not disappoint offensively. As for defense, my god, he was easily our best perimeter defender last year. The guy fights over screens, can legitimately lock down 1-2, plays 3's well, and he fights like a SOB in the post. His anticipation on passes is elite, as are his hands when straight stripping or poking the ball from the opposing dribbler. Averaged 2.1steals and 1 block per 36 minutes as a PG. That's elite company. Like LaVine, all reports on Dunn are the same, great guy and an absolute gym rat who has persevered through a ton in his young life.

Give Dunn/LaVine the keys in your backcourt, and watch how well they work together.

Figured I'd copy this here from the Zach LaVine Problem thread.

Thanks.

This makes me feel a lot better. I'm excited to see a backcourt of LaVine and Dunn. Hopefully Zach fully recovers.

[jacoby1us]

How about not allowing him to play at all this next season. What is the point? We are not competing, we are tanking for the #1 draft pick so their is no reason to allow him to come back to get into any type of "rhythm". We should be trying to lose every single game.

[BullsFTW]

Please stop the hysteria.

It's 2017.

Recovering from an ACL injury, especially as a 21 year old, is not a death sentence. He'll be just as athletic.

Dennis Smith Jr who a lot of people on this board wanted at #7 tore his ACL during his senior year in HS. Came back and recovered fine. Still athletic. I think LaVine will get all of his athleticism back.

Hopefully he'll be ready by the start of the regular season.

[BullsFTW]

How about not allowing him to play at all this next season. What is the point? We are not competing, we are tanking for the #1 draft pick so their is no reason to allow him to come back to get into any type of "rhythm". We should be trying to lose every single game.

No no no...

That is the reason Derrick never regained his MVP self. He took his time "recovering" while he should've been playing. He lost the skillset, rhythm, and timing that made him a Top 5 player. Derrick was fine physically. He had issues mentally. It also didn't help he was getting advice from his older brother.

[Ice Man]

LaVine has shot 39% on 3s over the past 2 years, is fast, and can play well above the rim. He was up to 6.4 3s attempted last year, per 36. That looks like a modern guard to me. If he gets past the knee and toughens up a lot physically, he could be very good. I like his ceiling.

[The Evidence]

For how athletic Lavine is, i've never really thought he was truly using all of it.

Read on Twitter

His advanced jumpshot definitely helps.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Thibodeau curse strikes again? RealGM and Twitter were abuzz when Lavine first went down blaming it on Thibs. Lavine was in for a long stretch without rest when the injury first occurred.

Lavines numbers were poor in January after logging 38 MPG in December. Maybe a sign that Lavine was being overworked?

I'm guessing minutes aren't going to be an issue for a while, but he'll probably need to be slowly brought back to a 20 - 25 MPG level because I'm not sure this body can handle a 38 MPG workload even when fully healthy.

[RebuildaBulls]

Rose injury was different, he was a top player, who just got paid and had massive expectations. Then he got injured and must have felt the weight of the world on him when he came back, and I think he knew he couldnt be the same but was afraid to show it.

Unlike Rose, Lavine is in a different circumstance and still is in the stage where he has alot to prove and even if he lost his athleticism as some fear, he is a very good shooter and can fall back on that.

[Poohdini1]

Derrick Rose was an anomaly. I haven't seen anyone with a similar injury: 1. Choose to sit out when he could be playing 2. Decline so much as a player. Just because he was a Bull doesn't mean you have to compare all similar injuries to his when the way he handled it was not the norm.

Rose also has dealt with 3 meniscus injuries after the ACL, so there's that

[Sinistar6]

Great day for Chicago Bulls. This is our only chance at turning things around. LaVine if he returns to form will be an elite player. Although Dunn's first year tarnishes his future perspectives I thought there was some narrative during Thib's time here about how he treats rookies. He was the number 5 pick for a reason. Although I preferred DSmith Jr. and Monk to the Finn, the Bulls need shooting and he is the prototype for this stretch 4/5 craze. The only terrible part of this trade (to me) is that we had to swap picks, Minnesota should have let us keep 16 (I love Patton) but what ever. The greatest perk to this whole situation is we are going to tank for at least 2 years and the drafts (esp 2019) are going to be historic. If you guys are feeling down just take a look at laVine highlights from last year and look up Marvin Bagley JR, Bul Bul, Zion Williamson, Moses Brown etc.

(

Watch on YouTube

)

[bad knees]

How about not allowing him to play at all this next season. What is the point? We are not competing, we are tanking for the #1 draft pick so their is no reason to allow him to come back to get into any type of "rhythm". We should be trying to lose every single game.

No no no...

That is the reason Derrick never regained his MVP self. He took his time "recovering" while he should've been playing. He lost the skillset, rhythm, and timing that made him a Top 5 player. Derrick was fine physically. He had issues mentally. It also didn't help he was getting advice from his older brother.

Nonetheless, Jacobius has a point. When Lavine returns, we will be in a dogfight for the worst record in the league. We don't need Lavine winning any games for us in March or April. So if it best for his recovery for him to play, Bulls should at the most limit his minutes significantly.