LAVINE UP FOR GAME OF 1-ON-1
All-Star goes on offense regarding his defense and why he’s deserving of a maximum contract
PORTLAND, Ore. — Bulls guard Zach LaVine was willing to sit down, skip the safe answers and clichés and have a good, oldfashioned sports debate.
What made it unique was that it was about his value as an NBA player headed toward a maximum contract — not a topic most pro athletes are willing to sit down with a sportswriter and discuss.
But that’s why Bulls writers have long respected LaVine: He’s an AllStar who handles himself like the kid next door.
“You have a job to do, and I get that,” LaVine said. “It’s your opinion, and I’ve always respected that.’’
That didn’t mean he agreed with it. And I respected that.
LaVine and the max have always made me nervous, enough that I’ve been outspoken over the last year about the Bulls not maxing him if they could avoid it.
“I’m basing it on history,” I told him as we walked toward the locker room in Portland. “Name me an offguard who was not a two-way player that was maxed, and I’ll tell you all the teams that regret that decision and never won a title . . . ’cause there’s a bunch of them.’’
LaVine nodded in agreement. Then he stopped.
“I get the argument,” he said. “But you’re assuming that I’m done.”
The kid next door had a point — one that started to sway my take.
“How’s my defensive rating now?” LaVine said. “It’s better. What does that tell you?”
He wasn’t wrong. Through the first 14 games of last season, LaVine was 415th in defensive rating (117.5) and 211th among NBA starters. Through the first 15 games this season, he has a 103.4 defensive rating, putting him 79th among starting players and 199th overall.
“It’s your job to have opinions, and one of my jobs as a professional athlete and a guy that’s extremely competitive is to go out there and try and prove people wrong,” LaVine said. “Am I going to get that right every time? No, but that’s the fun of sports. I get to have chips on my shoulder and bring that extra stuff to the game.
“Look, I get it — I do want to improve on everything, and I know that I haven’t had the best narrative