Chicago basketball report: Bulls reportedly plan to reopen Zach LaVine trade market — and Loyola eyes an NCAA bid
The Chicago Bulls reportedly will reopen attempts to trade Zach LaVine this summer.
In college basketball, Aneesah Morrow is gearing up for her first NCAA Tournament with LSU. Boo Buie and Terrence Shannon Jr. earned Big Ten honors. And Loyola is chasing an NCAA Tournament berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Every Wednesday throughout the season, Tribune writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Bulls and local basketball.
Bulls reportedly plan to reopen the Zach LaVine trade market this summer
The Bulls could plunge back into the trade market this summer once Zach LaVine recovers from season-ending foot surgery.
The front office plans to attempt to trade LaVine this summer according to a report by NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls initially began attempts to trade LaVine in November, when the guard requested a move away from Chicago for the first time in his tenure with the team.
LaVine has missed the majority of the season with a right foot injury for which he had in season-ending surgery in February. In Los Angeles this weekend, LaVine specified the injury was a nonunion Jones fracture which required surgery for a full recovery.
Photos: Chicago Bulls blown out 127-92 by Dallas Mavericks
Despite his initial attempts to exit the team, LaVine has publicly supported a return to Chicago since the injury derailed his season, brushing off any trade talk this weekend.
“There’s a lot of things that don’t bug me,” LaVine said. “If I let people’s opinions bug me or influence me, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. I go out there and keep doing me. I haven’t talked to anybody but we’ll continue to move forward.”
The Bulls were unsuccessful in establishing any serious trade conversations for LaVine as the guard struggled on the court, averaging 19.5 points and 3.9 assists in 25 appearances before he was shut down for the season. While he should be medically cleared for basketball activities again by mid-summer, it’s unclear what market will exist for LaVine as he enters the third year of his $215 million maximum contract.
Aneesah Morrow and LSU headed to the NCAA Tournament
After two years as a standout at DePaul, Aneesah Morrow is poised for her first NCAA Tournament with LSU.
The SEC Tournament ended on a low note for Morrow and the Tigers after a loss to No. 1 South Carolina was further marred when an altercation between South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson sparked a scuffle. Cardoso and both teams’ benches were ejected for the final two minutes of the game. Johnson’s brother was arrested after he came onto the court and made contact with Cardoso.
Despite the 79-72 loss, Morrow buoyed the LSU offense with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The final seeding for the NCAA Tournament will be announced at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
Boo Buie and Terrence Shannon Jr. receive All-Big Ten honors
The Big Ten announced its all-conference honors Tuesday, placing Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. and Northwestern’s Boo Buie on its all-conference first team. Buie was selected unanimously by both coaches and the media for the honor.
Buie broke the Northwestern all-time scoring record this season as he averaged 18.9 points and 5.2 assists in his fifth and final year for the Wildcats. Illinois forward Marcus Domask was also named to the all-conference first team in the coaches’ vote and to the second team by the media vote.
Shannon averaged 21.6 points and 2.2 assists per game in his first year for Illinois. He missed six games for Illinois when he was suspended by the university following his December arrest on a rape charge in Kansas. A federal judge on Jan. 19 granted a preliminary injunction returning Shannon to the team.
Former Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg was named co-coach of the year after leading Nebraska to a 22-9 season to finish third in the Big Ten.
The Big Ten Tournament begins Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Loyola seeks NCAA Tournament bid in Atlantic 10 Tournament
Drew Valentine and Loyola are headed to Brooklyn on Tuesday where they will wait to learn their opponent for Thursday’s quarterfinal game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
On Saturday, the Ramblers (23-8, 15-3 Atlantic 10) defeated La Salle 64-54 in their final regular-season home game, finishing tied for the conference championship in their second season in the Atlantic 10. After finishing the 2022-23 season in last place, the Ramblers opened this year’s campaign with a 75-62 loss to Florida Atlantic and went 3-3 in their first six games. Loyola hit their stride late in the season with a seven-game winning streak in February and a big win at home against then-No. 21 Dayton on March 1.
Valentine attributed the team’s last-to-first turnaround to its pride.
“This year we’ve shown with the way that we’ve won, a lot of pride in ourselves, but most importantly in the program, this university,” Valentine said. “Being able to cut down those nets in front of the home crowd was definitely restoring that pride in our program.”
The Atlantic 10 announced player honors Tuesday: Des Watson was named to the second team, while Braden Norris and Philip Alston were named to the third team. Miles Rubin — one of the top shot blockers in the country — also earned all-defensive and all-rookie nods. The Atlantic 10 Tournament will be played through Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The second-seeded Ramblers will play at 4 p.m. Thursday on USA Network. With a conference tournament championship, Loyola would receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Number of the week: 8
DeMar DeRozan was named the Eastern Conference player of the week on Monday, the 15th such honor in his career. He is only the eighth active NBA player to have earned 15 or more weekly awards in their career. LeBron James leads all active players with 58 player of the week designations across his career.
With the selection, DeRozan became the 24th player in NBA history to receive at least 15 weekly awards since the league first created the award in 1979.
Week ahead: Bulls
•Wednesday: @ Indiana Pacers, 6:30 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
•Thursday: Los Angeles Clippers, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
•Friday: Off
•Saturday: Washington Wizards, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
•Sunday: Off
•Monday: Portland Trail Blazers, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
•Tuesday: Off
What we’re reading this morning
•Column: Luka Dončić was the latest ‘interesting challenge’ for Chicago Bulls stopper Alex Caruso — but this was a 1-sided battle
•Lonzo Ball is sprinting for the 1st time in 2 years in the Chicago Bulls guard’s recovery from a serious knee injury
•Zach LaVine is ‘a little bit ahead of schedule’ in injury recover as he prepares for his Chicago Bulls return next season
•DeMar DeRozan is 2nd in the NBA in minutes. Is it sustainable for the Chicago Bulls to rely so heavily on the 34-year-old?
•Column: Chicago Bulls host their first ‘Girls’ Day of Play’ — for the girls, by the girls
•John Paxson joins board of Golden Minds, the mental health platform for Notre Dame’s NIL collective
•The Chicago Bulls can’t escape clutch finishes. What does that mean for the final quarter of the season?
•Houston, UConn and Purdue remain 1-2-3 in the men’s college basketball poll
•South Carolina and Iowa are 1-2 in women’s college basketball poll, while No. 3 USC has its best ranking in 38 years
•Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo rides a star-making season to individual awards — and an ACC title
•UIC fires Luke Yaklich as men’s basketball coach after the Flames went 47-70 in his 4 seasons
•What’s spurring Loyola’s turnaround season? For coach Drew Valentine, it’s staying ‘process-driven’ and focused on day-to-day growth.
•Column: Brad Underwood’s dire message about Illinois’ lack of hustle bears repeating — so he keeps repeating it
Quotable
“I don’t think there’s anybody else that can have that said (about them).” — Zach LaVine on Coby White’s campaign for Most Improved Player
