With the Chicago Bulls season continuing to spiral downward, as the team lacks on-court chemistry, they have reportedly had “multiple team meetings” to work out the various issues that have led to their terrible start this season.
Following four straight losing seasons, the Chicago Bulls seemed to be on a long-term upward swing after finishing with a 46-36 record last season and earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, that trajectory into championship contention has been halted and the team is in the midst of a serious decline in 2022-2023.
The Bulls have been without point guard Lonzo Ball all season as he continues to try and recover from off-season knee surgery. His absence played a major role in their quick playoff exit and has loomed large this season. Without him, the 2021 All-Star combo of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine have struggled mightly to regain the same success and they often seem like a poor mix.
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With their season in serious trouble and on-court frustration leading to turmoil among players, the staff, and the organization, the Chicago Bulls have recently tried to fix their problems on a very personal level multiple times.
Chicago Bulls have reportedly had team and one-on-one meetings to try and work out issues
The Bulls do not want to give up on the high hopes they had heading into the ’22-’23 season just yet, and in an attempt to salvage things as they wait for Ball’s return, they reportedly have tried to confront their issues on the court and in the locker room head-on.
On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania revealed that the team has had “multiple team meetings to try to work out their issues, and that has included one-on-one, face-to-face sitdowns between DeRozan and LaVine.”
Charania notes that the relationship between LaVine and DeRozan is still on “good” terms, however, the meetings have yet to fix the problems as they enter a Wednesday game against the Miami Heat with an 11-18 record.
However, while LaVine and DeRozan aren’t at odds, it’s a different situation between LaVine and the organization. Charania also reported sources informed him “LaVine and the Bulls are not seeing eye-to-eye. Over the past few weeks, there’s been a palpable feeling across various parts of the franchise of a disconnect over LaVine’s situation in Chicago.”
That is certainly not a good sign after the player and team agreed to a massive five-year, $215 million pact in the offseason.