The Bulls are officially broken.
Their max-contract, face-of-the-franchise player made that clear Wednesday.
Speaking with reporters after the morning shootaround, guard Zach LaVine sounded like he knew trade rumors about a pending breakup with the Bulls aren’t just smoke this time.
When will it happen? It’s too early for specifics, LaVine said, but for the first time in his seven-year stint with the Bulls, he was acting as if it was almost inevitable.
Asked if he has gone to the front office and demanded a trade, LaVine was coy.
“My camp [Klutch Sports] talks to them all the time,’’ LaVine said. “It’s not like we’re not in a good relationship or a good talking space. We understand the business of basketball; I do more than most people. People talk. I’ve been in trade talks for a long time, so I understand the situation. But once news is broken, it’s a big thing.
‘‘It’s not like it’ll be the first or last time it’s going to happen with my name. As of right now, I’m excited to still put this jersey on and play, try to get this win tonight.’’
LaVine was then asked if he wanted to be elsewhere and said: “Now is not that time to really talk about that. Play the Magic tonight, try to get a win. If something comes out later on, obviously that will be the time I talk about it.’’
When asked if the Bulls’ front office lost faith in him and approached his camp with the idea or if he lost faith in what the Bulls were building with him as the centerpiece, he again tiptoed around specifics.
“This is a business, man,’’ LaVine said about his situation being a distraction so early in the season. “We’ve dealt with a lot more than people talking in the media. There’s been a lot more than that.
‘‘Obviously, there was some news in the media. But we’re grown men. We’re a professional business. We know how to handle that.’’
But this growing disconnect has to concern the Bulls. While LaVine is still well-liked in the locker room, there have been mounting questions from teammates and the coaching staff about his accountability going back to last season. He was pouty after some wins, and teammates didn’t understand where he was directing blame publicly after losses, a source said.
Forward DeMar DeRozan and LaVine have been great friends since DeRozan joined the Bulls, and that relationship remains strong. DeRozan has gone out of his way to prop up LaVine on and off the court, basically acting as a buffer between LaVine and his frustrated teammates.
It’s not an easy job for DeRozan, and one that has become trickier now with LaVine seemingly in favor of the organization moving him to a better situation.
“That’s why I have representatives like Rich Paul,’’ LaVine said when asked why he wasn’t shooting down rumors like he has in the past. ‘‘If he speaks on my behalf, that’s my agent. That’s who I obviously have my camp with. They talk to [executive vice president of basketball operations] Arturas [Karnisovas] and them. My job is to go out here and play. Simple as that.”
Coach Billy Donovan admitted that he’s not privy to all the discussions surrounding LaVine’s future, but he doesn’t see it becoming a distraction.
“What you try to do is make sure everybody is playing in a way that is going to give us the best opportunity to be successful,’’ Donovan said. “[LaVine has] done that up to this point. I haven’t seen anything other than that. He’s always been coachable.’’
