Zach LaVine may have been ready to fight Jim Boylen
By John Buhler
Zach LaVine and Jim Boylen nearly came to blows last year, so that’s neat.
While Jim Boylen wanted Zach LaVine to punch the time clock, LaVine wanted to punch his coach.
There are so many reasons why the Chicago Bulls weren’t even allowed to go Walt Disney World and be in the NBA‘s Orlando bubble. When you can’t stop beating yourself, how can you reasonably expect to beat anybody? But when you’re trying to beat each other up through a mid-season mutiny, you’re going to have a bad time. Yes, LaVine may have wanted to fight Boylen.
What could possibly lead to Zach LaVine to want to fight Jim Boylen anyway?
Apparently, a lot of this contention stems from LaVine offering to pay Boylen’s fine after getting ejected from a ballgame. It was seen as LaVine extending the olive branch to his head coach, but Boylen made it about himself and completely fractured the relationship with arguably the best player on the Bulls. How do you think that worked out?
Per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, “What LaVine didn’t appreciate, according to a person familiar with the situation, was Boylen leaking the gesture to the press. What was intended as an olive branch quickly turned into a publicity stunt orchestrated by Boylen to make himself look good.”
Mayberry continued to document how LaVine’s relationship with Boylen deteriorated as the season went along. “LaVine was angry after the game and there was a minor concern among members of the traveling party that things could turn physical between the two prior to the team flight to Charlotte.”
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No matter who the Bulls hire as Boylen’s replacement, let’s hope it is nowhere near as contentious as it was towards the end of this past season. This is a franchise that won six NBA Finals with Michael Jordan as the GOAT. Up until very recently, Bulls players were forced to punch time clocks and try not to punch their head coach. This is an NBA team, not an automotive assembly line.
Hopefully, LaVine and the Bulls can hire someone that not every player will end up resenting.