LaVine believes in former Minnesota teammates
Zach LaVine probably has as good a long-distance view as anyone regarding the drama in Minnesota.
He spent three years with the Timberwolves and says Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins remain among his close friends. LaVine came to the Bulls in the trade for Jimmy Butler, who now says he wants out of Minnesota.
"KAT and Wigs are some of my good friends," LaVine said Monday at the Advocate Center. "Wigs just had his newborn baby and congratulations to him on that. And KAT is a really laid-back dude, but they are extremely competitive at the same time. They work hard.
"I feel like they are getting some flack because some people are saying they don't work hard. People in the organization are saying that. But I think they are extremely hard workers. Whenever I am in the gym, they are too. I have seen Wigs go back late night after games that he didn't play well and go get shots up too. So, I think they are proven players in the NBA for sure. I think they will be just fine."
Obviously, the Timberwolves have not traded Butler and the latest word is he's expected to play in Minnesota's season opener at San Antonio on Wednesday.
LaVine gets defensive:
Zach LaVine played well offensively during preseason. On Monday, he talked about trying to improve his defense.
"I think I had a lot better focus on the defensive end," he said. "I had some mistakes too, but I wanted to go out there and just really hone in on being more focused down there. I felt like I did OK with that."
On media day, LaVine said he believes he's a pretty good defender when guarding the ball, but needs to improve his focus during off-the-ball defense. He's ready for the Bulls' coaching staff to help him whenever possible.
"The coaching staff has definitely just been on me," he said. "I told them whenever I am not in my stance, I am somebody that is pretty coachable, I am fine with being yelled at. I have heard every name in the book so that really doesn't offend me. I have told (Jim) Boylen just to yell from the bench, 'Aye Z, focus.' You know, things like that.
"KD (Kris Dunn) has helped me a good amount too. He is a really good defender. I feel like everybody sees his skills and the intangibles. So he just gives me some tips and pointers here and there. Especially fighting on screens. I see how aggressive he is on the ball."
Valentine back in practice:
It's too soon to tell if Denzel Valentine will play in Thursday's season opener at Philadelphia, but he has returned to practice. Valentine missed the entire preseason with a left ankle sprain.
"Denzel feels good, similar to what we did (Sunday)," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "So he'll go through about half of practice."
In roster news, point guard Tyler Ulis officially became the Bulls' second two-way player, joining Rawle Alkins.