Chicago Bulls: 3 key questions regarding Zach LaVine’s potential

3. Is Zach LaVine just a high flyer?

There is no arguing that LaVine is fun to watch. Before his injury, he was an acrobat with a basketball, soaring through the air for highlight reel dunks. The issue isn’t about whether LaVine can dunk or even how much he can score, it’s whether that’s all he really is.

LaVine’s debut season in the Windy City was inconsistent at best, as was to be expected. In 24 games, he averaged 16.7 points per contest on 38.3 percent shooting from the field. LaVine’s 34.1 percent shooting on 3-pointers was the worst mark of his career.

Those aren’t great numbers for a scoring guard who doesn’t contribute much defensively, but it was a sample size for LaVine. Most of the season was about just getting his body used to playing basketball again and shaking off rust.

The question is, can he be more than just a highlight dunker? Can he develop into an All-Star? The chances of that are low, says ESPN‘s Zach Lowe. The main issue is his defense, and how LaVine rarely plays it. With his athleticism, he should be at least an average defender by accident. Whether he becomes a serviceable defender will largely be LaVine’s choice.

Essentially, the Bulls are paying nearly $20 million a year for a probable one-dimensional player who isn’t a great shooter so far and has had a major knee injury.