DENVER — The Bulls were taking on water even before sending guard Zach LaVine to the Kings in a three-team trade in early February, having lost nine of 12 games at the time.
With LaVine gone, the feeling around the NBA was that they were sunk.
Six weeks later, however, the run-and-gun Bulls have become a tough team to put down from night to night and are now winners of 10 of their last 15 games after outlasting the Nuggets for a 129-119 victory Monday night.
“They might be the best running team in the league right now,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said before the game.
He then saw it firsthand as the Bulls outscored the Nuggets 34-24 in the fourth quarter.
Their up-tempo play is part of it, but they also might be the most stubborn team in the NBA. While the rest of the world seemed to be telling them to tank in the wake of the LaVine trade, they decided they had other plans.
“I just think we kind of embraced the challenge and took pride in showing that people kind of wrote us off when Zach got traded,” veteran center Nikola Vucevic said. “I think we’ve really come together as a group. Our chemistry has been really good. When you lose someone, a player like [LaVine], it opens up opportunities for other players, and guys have really stepped up — Josh [Giddey], Coby [White], Tre [Jones] before he got hurt, Kevin [Huerter]. Like, Kevin wasn’t playing much in [Sacramento], and he came here with a chip on his shoulder and showed he can still contribute at a high level, and he has been.
“It’s just the way it is in this league. You can’t dwell over what happens. Teams make decisions, front offices, and that’s their decision. We as players, we focus on what we can do to become the best versions of ourselves.”
Although this team still has its flaws — starting with Arturas Karnisovas, executive vice president of basketball operations, unable to figure out how to get a superstar talent in a Bulls uniform nearly five years after he was hired — they at least have found an identity.
White sure has. On the same day he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for a second straight week, he dropped 37 points on the Nuggets as some fans in Denver chanted his name.
“Confidence is high,” White said. “Like I always say, it isn’t just me — it takes a village. Family, teammates [and] the organization continue to push me.”
The hope in the locker room is that the Bulls (32-40) can continue building on the new continuity. Not that they have much of a choice — there will be a lot of returning faces for at least one more season, plus the addition of a first-round draft pick in June. Trades can always happen, but not as many as one would think.
One player who’s suddenly buying in — and would like to stay another season and finish out his contract — is Vucevic. That’s a bit surprising, especially after good friend DeMar DeRozan was traded to the Kings and Alex Caruso to the Thunder last summer, followed by the LaVine trade. All signs had pointed to Vucevic being traded by the Feb. 6 deadline, and when he wasn’t, there were concerns he’d check out.
“Who knows what happens in the summer, but right now I’m focused on this group of guys,” Vucevic said. “I’ve really enjoyed playing with them. Guys with good character, guys that really want to win, they care. We play for each other, we compete, and that’s what you want.”