The Chicago Bulls aren\u2019t tanking.<\/p>\n
At least not if the players have anything to say about it. Zach LaVine made that clear last week after the Bulls put together a rare streak of three consecutive wins capped with an upset over the Boston Celtics<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers and coaches never tank,\u201d LaVine said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n That shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise for anyone who has fired up the antenna<\/a> to watch the Bulls this season. LaVine and fellow veteran Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 have anchored the Bulls through a complete offensive overhaul. Their new style of play demands some of the highest-effort workloads in the entire league \u2014 and players from LaVine all the way down the rotation to Jevon Carter are stepping up to that challenge.<\/p>\n And as a result, the Bulls aren\u2019t anywhere close to as bad as they might have planned. With one week left until 2025, the Bulls are still ninth in the Eastern Conference, a position in the standings that has become a sort of purgatory for this franchise over the last three years. And with 30 games gone by, the Bulls are inching closer to missing the boat on any attempt to save their top-10 protected draft pick.<\/p>\n This might seem like an overreaction. The Bulls are only 1.5 games above the playoff line. Even with its current level of effort and buy-in (and 3-point sharp shooting), this roster hasn\u2019t been able to elevate itself above .500. Monday night\u2019s dismal loss to the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> highlighted the unfortunate truth that this team\u2019s promise hasn\u2019t crystallized into anything seriously competitive.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n As far as coach Billy Donovan is concerned, the only goal for this season is to keep attempting to win.<\/p>\n \u201cCollectively inside the organization, there is an expectation about the integrity of competition,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cNothing has ever been said to me like, \u2018Listen, we\u2019ve got to keep this pick so do this and this.\u2019 That is not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the correct way to approach this type of season. There\u2019s no easier way to lose the loyalty of a player or coach than by speaking honestly with them about the reality of needed losses in a season. But this is also why executive vice president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas and general manager Marc Eversley can only accomplish tanking this season through transactions.<\/p>\n