SACRAMENTO – The Bulls added an extra player in the Thursday morning meeting/walkthrough at the team hotel.
A two-time All-Star at that.
Zach LaVine joked that he was hoping no one would notice. That the Bulls players and coaches might think it was just like old times. He was wrong.
LaVine, who has been staying in a Sacramento hotel since he was traded from the Bulls to the Kings in a three-team deal back on Feb. 2, knew that the Bulls would also be in the same hotel, so why not go make his presence felt?
“Yeah, I’ve been in the group chat for the longest,” LaVine said of the contact he’s maintained with his former teammates. “I told them don’t delete me from the group chat, I want to talk mess to you guys.
“And then (Thursday) I walked down into their meeting room (at the hotel), went through the walk-through a little bit. Act like you all don’t know me before.”
A funny moment for all, but one that also brought out some emotion.
LaVine was emotional in talking to the Bulls media for the first time since the trade, and even coach Billy Donovan seemed emotional when asked about his time with LaVine.
Donovan brought up all the times he saw LaVine interacting with his kids at the Advocate Center and insisted those are the memories that were long lasting.
“I really enjoyed the relationship piece of it,” Donovan said. “I give him a lot of credit for all the speculation that was going on last offseason on what may or may not happen (trade-wise), and then him coming back with both feet in the circle, being totally professional and doing whatever he could to help our team.
“I had a chance to spend some time with him this morning and we’ve texted and spoke since he’s been gone, but he seems to be in a really good place. I enjoyed my time with him.”
The feeling was mutual as far as LaVine was concerned.
“There’s no bad blood,” LaVine said. “We had a really good tenure, and business is business. You just remember the memories and relationships. That’s what always sticks with you more than anything.”
Still a fan
While it’s been open season on the continued inconsistent play of Patrick Williams, former Bull DeMar DeRozan has always been one of Williams’ biggest supporters and that hasn’t changed.
DeRozan was asked about Williams still struggling to find a solid footing in the rotation and was asked if his time with the Bulls is salvageable?
“For sure,” DeRozan said. “Whatever it may be, I tell Pat that everybody’s road is different. Everybody’s destination to something is different. You can’t expect everybody to have the same walk of a career. Sometimes you gotta go through certain things that push you, put things in perspective for you when it comes to your career. This is something he’s just got to learn from, grow from, and when it’s all said and done he can look back at it and say, you know, he’s happy he went through whatever he needed to go through to be the player that I think we all believe he can be.”
DeRozan still speaks to his former teammates frequently.
Being cautious
Guard Josh Giddey wanted to play, but it sounded like Bulls medical had the final say and decided to keep him out of the game against the Kings for precautionary reasons.
Giddey played 30-plus minutes against the Suns after missing the two previous games with a sprained right ankle, and was hoping afterward that he could play in the back-to-back.
“I think (medical) felt like just the minutes and the load, but he did not have any setbacks,” Donovan said. “Fully expect him to play (against the Lakers on Saturday).”