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It seemed fitting that the Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, placing sixth seed in the East behind Zach LaVine’s 35 points the day after LaVine won his first All-Star selection.
But not for the reason you might think.
Yes, the Bulls acquired LaVine from the Timberwolves when the old management regime decided to dive into a full rebuild and trade Jimmy Butler in June 2017. And, yes, LaVine is the Bulls’ first All-Star since Butler. that same year.
But it’s more for this reason: The Timberwolves arrived on Wednesday night with Chris Finch coaching his second game since replacing licensed Ryan Saunders. That’s three coaches – Tom Thibodeau, Saunders, Finch – in four years since LaVine left town.
Such turnover is commonplace for LaVine, who, in Billy Donovan, is playing for his sixth coach in his seventh NBA season. Flip Saunders, Sam Michell, Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg, Jim Boylen, Donovan.
But that’s why LaVine’s rise to All-Star status in Donovan’s first season with the Bulls is so important. Donovan is not going anywhere. Rumor has it in the league that LaVine isn’t either.
And so, a partnership that gets off to a solid and respectful start should only grow stronger and stronger.
That’s another reason why it makes sense for the Bulls to extend LaVine, whether it happens this offseason or next. Just think what he can achieve with some coaching stability, especially one of Donovan’s stature?
“Billy was awesome, man,” LaVine said. “Total 180 compared to what we had last year, because we have pretty much the same team. We’ve had our share of ups and downs, games that we should have won and we didn’t. played the right way, but our approach and my approach is so different mentally.
“I say this all the time: (Donovan) challenges you and he’s so respected and does it the right way. Obviously, we were all bought from the start. We were ready to fight for this guy.
Donovan uses equally complementary language when asked about LaVine.
“My little time with Zach, I’ll say this: It’s unfortunate in so many ways that people don’t get the chance to see behind the scenes who he is as a person. He’s an amazing teammate and a great guy, and I think this posting, what you were talking about with his teammates, goes to the heart of how they personally feel about him, ”said Donovan, when asked about the genuine joy of his teammates on LaVine’s All -Star Selection. “I would say he is as great a player as he is and as well as he has played he is even better than that. I have a lot of respect for his game and what he did and the way he worked and tried to improve and improve, but he’s always been incredibly accessible. He was incredibly open-minded.
“It’s the same guy every day. I think consistency is an important element for a player. As talented and gifted as he is, he’s the same guy every day in terms of personality. I always ask him: “How are you?” He said, “I’m fine. I am still good. I think that speaks to him. Men love to be with him and men enjoy his company.
This trait of co-ability was noted by other trainers who trained LaVine. But this Donovan-LaVine partnership is brimming with potential.
LaVine’s commitment to wanting to be a two-way player – a process that former coach Jim Boylen, maligned as he was, started by challenging him – fits perfectly with Donovan’s pragmatic approach to responsibility.
It’s clear that LaVine is responding to Donovan. He said he respects the way Donovan challenges you directly. But when he says “he’s doing it the right way”, that’s what LaVine means: Donovan does it without looking for credit. It empowers the player even if it keeps him at a high level.
“It was Zach who made these decisions, that he really wanted to focus on becoming a two-way player, that he wanted to focus on winning. It came from him, ”Donovan said. “Now obviously when you have a player in that place I think as a coach you try to put things on his plate that will put him in a position where he’s challenged to face some things he wants to face. “OK, do you want to be a two-way player? This is what it takes, this is what it looks like. This is what you have to do. Want to be a guy who wants to be a leader? Well you got to come in and be the hardest working guy. If you want to be able to empower your teammates, you need to empower yourself first. You can’t be the kind of guy who doesn’t and says, “Look, do what I say, not what I do.
“I think for him it was a learning process. Because I think because he’s so good, a lot of things have been, “Give me the ball, and I’ll just try to get us home and win the game.” And I think he realized it wasn’t working. So I think there are things he learned in his six years in the league, I think there are things he learned from the last year that have makes him a better player. I think I come as a coach, I tried to challenge him just to be better in the areas where he wanted to be better. And to be honest with you, I totally agree with him watching a movie when we sat down and talked about the areas he wanted to improve. And I think he really, really cooperated well and listened to the message from me.
Messaging connects completely when it comes to wanting to win. Donovan and LaVine share it equally and passionately. It’s a relationship in the foreground, the possibilities seemingly endless as long as stability is at stake.
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