Bulls News: Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn Shut Down for Rest of Season by Chicago

The Chicago Bulls are shutting down guards Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn for the remainder of the season, according to Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.

Per that report, "Neither have made enough progress to be conditioned well enough to play going forward."

LaVine has been dealing with left knee tendinitis, while Dunn has been recovering from turf toe, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Head coach Fred Hoiberg spoke about both players on Monday:

"I'm excited about next year with those two guys for the fact that when we were playing our best stretch of basketball this season, Zach had come back. He was playing about 20 minutes when he first got back. We won those first two games where we had him playing some of our best basketball. I wish we could've kept that going.

"As Zach's minutes increased, we were playing so well and with so much confidence. Unfortunately that next game, Kris Dunn goes down. We just weren't able to see exactly what that would've looked like when we were playing our best basketball.

“When I go back and watch those games—the Miami game I just watched last week—it's exciting and fun. We were playing a really good brand of basketball. That gives me a lot of hope for what's to come. It's going to take a lot of work in the offseason to get that chemistry right."

LaVine, 23, appeared in just 24 games for the Bulls this season after returning from a torn ACL, averaging 16.7 points and 3.0 assists per game. He'll be a restricted free agent this summer, though LaVine seems confident he'll return to the Bulls.

"There's a lot that goes into it," LaVine told Johnson last week regarding the free-agency process. "The agency and front office, they're both trying to get the better of each (other), but I think this situation is a little bit different because there's mutual respect on both sides and understanding. There's no bad blood between us, so I think everything will go smoothly."

Dunn, 24, averaged 13.4 points and 6.0 assists in 52 total games.

As for the perception that the Bulls are now tanking, forward Bobby Portis said the team can't concern itself with that talk.

"We don't care about that. We work hard. This is our job to perform at the highest level," he told Johnson. "If a guy works at Walgreens and his job is to put cookies at the cookie station, he has to do that. We have to try to make baskets."