SAN ANTONIO – The almost daily talks that Billy Donovan has with his front office are still in a world where Zach LaVine is a Bull.
Until executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas makes that call to the coach and tells him otherwise, that’s the space Donovan will continue operating in.
That’s why Friday continued complicating things.
Donovan is also a “your record is your record” guy, and thanks to a 121-112 win over the Spurs and standout rookie Victor Wembanyama, the record for the Bulls since the 2021-22 season when LaVine is in street clothes is now 15-10.
But getting anyone in the locker room or coaches’ office to admit that life without LaVine just might be a better on-the-court product? Good luck, even though this is what the Bulls (9-14) might permanently look like by the time the Feb. 8 trade deadline comes and goes – or maybe even sooner.
“I haven’t looked at it that way just because I’ve told you before when there’s anything of substance or anything Arturas feels like he wants to talk to me about, he’s talked to me about it,” Donovan said. “This is the one point so far this season where we’ve had a high-minute volume guy out for an extended period of time. I look at it as, ‘Here’s the group we have, who we’re going out to play with, and it’s kind of like the next guy has to step up and fill in for the guy that’s missing.’ “
He’ll have to look at it for at least another three to four weeks, with the team announcing on Wednesday that LaVine’s sore right foot would need more time than first expected.
Considering LaVine and his representation added some early-season drama to the equation by letting it be known that they were all for the Bulls trading him, it’s definitely been a high-wire act the entire organization has been walking.
To their credit, with LaVine out of sight, out of mind, there have been a number of Bulls players that continue stepping up, specifically the younger guys. Coby White was again an assassin from three-point range against the Spurs, hitting five more and setting a franchise record for the most threes over a 10-game span with 47.
Patrick Williams had one of his better games, as he continued picking up the scoring hole left by LaVine with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Then sprinkle in what Ayo Dosunmu has been doing, as well as veteran reserves Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter, and it’s almost like, “Zach who?”
“Not really thinking about anything really,” Williams said of his recent turnaround after his team’s fourth straight win. “Just going out and playing hard. You make shots, miss shots, just get back on defense, next-shot mentality. It’s been working for me.’’
And according to Donovan, the younger players stepping up isn’t because a certain high-volume shooter was sidelined.
“I’ve never heard from Coby or never heard from Patrick, Ayo, Dalen (Terry), or Julian (Phillips), ‘I’m always looking for (LaVine, DeMar DeRozan or Nikola Vucevic,) I feel like I have to throw them the ball,’ “ Donovan said.
That was on display with just under four minutes left in the game as White and Williams scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Bulls some breathing room, and did so with veteran Alex Caruso in the locker room with a rolled right ankle.
So again, better without LaVine?
“It’s hard to replace the talent that Zach has out there on the court with one person,” Caruso said. “We’ve done a good job of playing-by-committee. It’s also a different look when (LaVine’s) not out there compared to when he is, but I’ve played in plenty of games with him now, nearly 2 ½ years, and when he’s locked in and playing good we’re a really good basketball team.”