While the Chicago Bulls still have just over a week left in the 2017-18 NBA season, it’s officially over for two of their core players.
The organization announced on Monday that they are shutting down point guard Kris Dunn and shooting guard Zach LaVine for the remaining five games. According to NBC Sports Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill, neither player has made enough progress to be conditioned to play moving forward.
Here’s what Goodwill tweeted:
Per Bulls, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn will be shut down for the season. Neither have made enough progress to be conditioned well enough to play going forward
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) April 2, 2018
Both players were pieces in the 2017 Draft Day trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. LaVine was recovering from a torn ACL when the deal was made and played in 24 games while averaging 16.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Dunn appeared to have ressurected his career after a less-than impressive rookie season. The point guard appeared in 52 games while averaging 13.4 points and 6.0 assists while playing in 29.3 minutes per game. All of those were career-highs for Dunn.
Chicago has won two-straight including a game against Orlando, a team ahead of them in the NBA Draft Lottery standings. They currently sit with the eighth worst-record in the NBA, one game behind Brooklyn for No. 7 and 1.5 games behind Sacramento for No. 6. With five games left, the Bulls could finish with the second-worst record but are five behind Memphis.
With a loaded NBA Draft coming up, Chicago will somehow have to find a way to get into the Top 5.
2018 NBA Draft: Chicago Bulls picks via tiebreakers
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