Chicago Bulls: Ranking all five of their potential starters

1. Zach LaVine (SG)

Sigh, okay, here we go. We know Zach LaVine, who led the team in scoring and ranked ninth in the association in points per 100 possessions, will probably serve as the team’s number one option again. And given his obvious talents as a shooter (38.0 percent from deep on 11.2 attempts per 100) and as a penetrator, you could do a lot worse than him.

That said, his struggles as a facilitator (69th in assists per 100 and finished with the 13th most turnovers per 100) will always inhibit how far he can lead a team. Combine that with his less-than-stellar defense — he does alright in spots, but struggles with making the right rotations — and you get a player that often hurts his team as much as he helps it (the Bulls’ net rating went from -5.0 to 0.0 when LaVine was off the floor last year).

This year, however, LaVine isn’t playing for a coach he obviously dislikes and Billy Donovan’s more conservative defensive approach will likely ease LaVine’s defensive responsibilities enough that Chicago won’t turn into one of the worst defensive teams in the league when he plays.

Offensively, LaVine will keep them afloat — the Bulls offense improved by four points per 100 when he was in the lineup — but now is the time to show whether he can provide more to this team than just scoring.