Former Chicago Bull praises the city and former teammate before facing them for the first time since being traded

Thursday night marks the first time the Chicago Bulls will be squaring off against one of their former premier players since trading him over a month ago. Zach LaVine was acquired by the Bulls ahead of the 2017 draft in a package that sent Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

LaVine will have to wait to make his return to the United Center with Thursday night’s game being in Sacramento. In 18 games with the Kings, he has averaged 22.7 points, 3.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. LaVine has shot 52.7% from the field and 44.1% from beyond the arc, both marks that measure closely to the shooting numbers that he had with the Bulls this season.

Before the game, LaVine was extremely positive when speaking about the Bulls, the city of Chicago as a whole, and a guard on the current roster that he loves to watch play.

Zach LaVine has high praise for the Chicago Bulls and the city

Despite the Bulls only winning one playoff game in LaVine’s lengthy tenure with the organization, he made it known to the media that he has nothing but love for the city of Chicago.

“Chicago’s always going to be a special place in my heart,” LaVine said. “I loved Chicago… Chicago’s always going to be a special place in my heart, and I hope the fan base, the organization know how much I deeply care for them.”

LaVine instantly became a staple in the Chicago organization and was with the team for eight years before the three-team deal that sent him to the Sacramento Kings ahead of the trade deadline in February. He started and played in 42 games for the Bulls this season and rebuilt his trade value big time. LaVine averaged 24.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.1% from the field.

The former UCLA Bruin’s ability to take over games throughout his time in Chicago was known across the league. He had some memorable moments in a Bulls uniform and it has certainly been weird for fans to watch games without him on the roster.

A trade for LaVine was needed for Chicago, especially with the season that he was putting together. The Bulls needed to get some sort of a rebuild in motion, and moving off a veteran like him made all of the sense in the world at the time.

Current Chicago Bulls guard receives positive words from Zach LaVine

Coby White has been fantastic for the Bulls this season, and he is a player in Chicago that LaVine will keep an eye on moving forward.

“It’s great to see Coby on a roll,” LaVine said. “I saw he struggled a little after the trade to find himself; glad to see him being aggressive again.”

White is averaging 19.5 points per game this season and has 20 or more points in his last nine games. This is the best-scoring stretch of the former first-round pick’s career and he is putting himself into the conversation of being a major part of the Bulls’ future. White’s contract is up at the end of next season, so the Bulls front office will mull his future with the organization this summer when the new league year officially begins.