Chicago Bulls’ teammates Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan talked about their relationship
The NBA has seen its fair share of ball-dominant players failing to make it work. From Paul George and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City in 2017 to the Los Angeles Lakers’ failed experiment of Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone in the 2003-2004 season, it is easy to be skeptical about high-usage players on the same squad. On the surface, one can look at the Chicago Bulls tandem of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan the same way.
Both are wingmen who love to have the ball in their hands. With the Bulls struggling this season, which culminated with elimination from the Play-in tournament, it’s easy to think that perhaps the on-court fit of DeRozan and LaVine isn’t ideal. However, the two players expressed support for their partnership, saying they’ve learned a lot in their two seasons together.
Excellent on- and off-court relationship
LaVine, who averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this season, said it has been fun playing off of each other these past two seasons. He added that despite what people on the outside may think, their relationship off the floor is great, as he considers DeRozan one of his best friends.
“Being able to play with DeMar these last two seasons has been great. He’s one of my best friends on and off the court,” LaVine said. “Learning different things from him and him learning different things from me, it’s been fun playing off each other.”
However, LaVine admitted that their partnership remains a work in progress, since it hasn’t translated to massive success for the Bulls. The squad made it to the Playoffs as the sixth-seed last season before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks. They took a step back this season, failing to even make it to the postseason.
“When we’re both on, it shows. We’re able to take over games. But we just need to do a little bit more and figure out how to get that to a little more winning. I think that’s the thing that we were both a little bit frustrated about, how we can both play off each other better,” LaVine added.
Pay the chatter no mind
DeRozan chimed in on their partnership, saying his relationship with LaVine is genuine. Moreover, their communication line is open to ensure they lead the Bulls to success, especially after the up-and-down campaign they just had.
“The conversations me and him have on a daily basis of how we can be better, how we can make the team better is genuine and it’s big,” DeRozan said. “So with that, no one on the outside can question what our fit is because it’s all about us. How can we not make just two guys work but make five guys on the court work?”
“I think it’s just a matter of us finding the right sequence of dynamics that brings out the best in us and the other three guys on the floor with us. We showed spurts of that plenty of times.”
