Well, it took most of the season for the Chicago Bulls to finally start shutting guys down but we are finally there. With only a few games left in the regular season, Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and Denzel Valentine have officially been declared out for the few remaining games this season.

Dunn, LaVine, Valentine Season Recap

With the aforementioned players’ seasons now over, it can be said that certainty that Dunn showed vast improvement during his second season in the league over his rookie season with the Timberwolves. Denzel Valentine also showed improvement this season and looks as though he will be a solid role player for the team moving forward. LaVine was both promising and disappointing in his injury-rehabbed first season with the Bulls. While he seems to still have the same athleticism and explosiveness he displayed pre-ACL injury, LaVine also struggled to find his role with the team.

Hoiberg pretty blunt on the lack of cohesion last night between Dunn and LaVine with Markkanen out: "Zach has to get out and run the floor. He’s waiting in the backcourt for the ball. That’s Kris Dunn’s job."

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 16, 2018

Being that Dunn and LaVine also had some time together last season in Minnesota, I hope the chemistry issues between the two can be worked out this offseason. I also have to wonder whether LaVine was just dealing with a sense of over-eagerness to prove himself not only post-injury but to also prove that he is worth a bigger contract this offseason. Whatever the issue is, LaVine needs trust in his teammates and focus on making the right shot on his end. LaVine only played in 24 games and played under minutes restrictions at that, but his season average of 38% from the field and 34% from three is at least a little worrisome. His poor shooting coupled with his lack of on-court chemistry with Dunn are two of the more disappointing aspects of LaVine's 2017-18 campaign. However, he still showed that he showed flashes of that explosive scoring ability that made the Bulls trade for him in the first place.

What this means for the rest of the team

Without LaVine, Dunn, and Valentine, the Bulls are clearly hoping to give themselves a better chance to lose more games as the season finishes up. Although this might be seen as a “too little, too late” move by the Bulls, every loss helps at this point if the team can potentially move down one more spot in the standings. At this moment, the team's current standings place them with odds at the ninth pick in the draft (according to www.tankathon.com). 

At the same time, Bulls fans are still left wondering if the front office is even really committed to a rebuild. On one hand, the Bulls have a roster full of guys that play hard every night and who all have at least one good skill or attribute that is helping this team win more games than they should this season. On the other hand, why are some of these guys still playing this late in this season? Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez have still not been shut down. What good is to play them at this point? Yes, I want Markkanen to have the opportunity to grow and get the experience during his rookie year. Yes, I want to see players like Nwaba and Portis get bigger roles on the team. But I also super don't want to win games right now. The Bulls ought to be sitting Dunn, LaVine, RoLo, Markkanen, and Portis, in particular. Now, however, it is too late and we are likely stuck with ending up around pick eight or nine in the draft (which I can be fine with if they can snag Mikal Bridges). Nonetheless, the Bulls front office better hope this young core plus whoever they take in this year's draft can pull the Bulls back into contention in a few years. If the Bulls are still just a mediocre team in a few seasons, this has all been for naught. The Bulls are already too good to properly tank this season so they for sure won’t have a chance at it next season with a fully healthy roster and two incoming first rounders. This was the one real chance they had at landing another top pick. I just wish they had properly prepared to tank.