The Chicago Bulls have been the definition of mediocre over the last ten years. Since trading away Jimmy Butler to Minnesota eight seasons ago, Zach LaVine became the face of the franchise, the first All-Star since Butler, and the leading scorer during his tenure. The Bulls were 248-349, or a 41.5% winning rate over those years. They made the playoffs once, going 1-4, and lost twice in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Considering he was one of the 15 most expensive players leaguewide during the second half of his stint in town, he's easily one of the most disappointing stars to represent the Windy City. Now in Sacramento, alongside fellow former Chicago teammate DeMar DeRozan, things are inching toward a similar fate.
Zach LaVine Is Not A Star
This would be breaking news to Arturas Karnisovas, who believed in LaVine's abilities more than anyone. He inked the two-time All-Star to one of the most lucrative contracts leaguewide and most expensive in franchise history, even though he hadn't won a playoff series yet, only had two All-Star nods, and had not been named to an All-NBA team in his entire career. While he is undoubtedly one of the most elite scoring threats in spurts, his inconsistency, lack of playmaking, and defensive weaknesses created a wall that Chicago would not surpass until he was moved down the totem pole. The Kings are experiencing similar woes with the former UCLA Bruin running the show.
Zach LaVine says the "vibe is not good" in the Kings locker room after another loss.
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) March 25, 2025
Domantas Sabonis says the team is aware of the Kings barely holding on to a play-in spot. pic.twitter.com/sx8LMKMmWp
Kings Are Becoming The Bulls Of The Western Conference
The Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls are having a reversal of roles. The Kings have been at least ten games over the .500 mark each of the last two seasons, and this year, are currently 35-37 with ten games left in the 2024-25 campaign. Six of LaVine's seven full seasons with the Bulls did not see postseason action and boasted a record of under .500. This year, his former team is tracking to make the NBA Play-In Tournament for a third consecutive season. Before his departure, the Bulls were 21-29 and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Since trading him away, they are 11-11 and up to 9th place in the standings. Sacramento was 25-24 before bringing in the All-Star shooting guard and is 10-13 since. They're on the brink of missing the NBA Play-In Tournament entirely.
When Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan share the court, the Kings are a subpar team:
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) March 26, 2025
115.5 OffRtg (15th)
121.0 DefRtg (28th)
-5.6 NetRtg (24th)
An average offense coupled with a horrendous defense certainly isn’t a long-term winning formula for Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/HLgMHOTJwX
8-2 in our last 10 games 😤 pic.twitter.com/wObeYnu9nq
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 25, 2025
It's also noteworthy that the Kings lost their leading scorer and All-Star guard, De'Aaron Fox, at the trade deadline this year. While many might cite that as the primary source of the Kings' recent woes, the counterargument is that LaVine has seven seasons of 20 points per game to Fox's six, he's paid an average of $10 million more annually and has two All-Star nods to Fox's one. The direct swap of Fox to LaVine shouldn't have tanked Sacramento as far as it has. This represents another metric that shows how poor of a decision Karnisovas made when inking his extension with the Bulls.
Name another franchise that has lost their most talented All-Star caliber player and improved their standings while his new home has tanked in the ranks and is struggling to find its footing. This trade has fully exposed Zach LaVine as the biggest problem in Chicago's franchise during one of the most disappointing stretches in the organization's history.
