Bulls' Zach LaVine ahead of schedule in foot surgery recovery - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from season-ending surgery on his right foot and expects to be healthy for the start of next season.

LaVine met the Bulls in Los Angeles, where he lives and has been rehabbing, for Saturday's 112-102 loss to the Clippers. He detailed the reasoning behind his decision to have surgery in February, saying he had a floating bone in his foot for months. The Bulls had made it a point to include in a news release that the decision to have the procedure was made by LaVine and his agency, Klutch Sports Group.

«You never want to have surgery,» LaVine said. «But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, your pain level, this thing isn't going to heal on its own.»

LaVine's 2023-24 season ended after he played in just 25 games, disjointed by a pair of injuries to his right foot. He initially was injured Nov. 28 during a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, when he scored two points in 24 minutes and exited with right foot inflammation.

He missed 17 games with the injury before returning on Jan. 5, coming off the bench for the first two games to ease back into the rotation. However, LaVine sprained his ankle about two weeks later on Jan. 18, an absence that extended when the discomfort in his foot was not improving.

He averaged 19.5 points on 45.2% shooting, his lowest scoring total since he played 24 games coming off ACL surgery in 2017-18, his first season in Chicago.

LaVine had been the subject of trade rumors through the first half of the season, especially after he voiced his frustration with the team during a 5-14 start to the year. However, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that there had been «no market» for