Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg offered an optimistic assessment of Zach LaVine's recovery from left ACL surgery, while stressing the late-November timeline to be cleared for contact remains intact.
"Zach is coming along great," Hoiberg said Thursday. "He's been really good, very vocal with our players. He's ahead of schedule. He's cleared to do more movement. He's not cleared for contact yet, but he's moving around in unpredictable movements now, which is important."
At the Sept. 25 media day, LaVine said doctors told him nine months is the safe estimate to be cleared for contact. LaVine suffered the injury while playing for the Timberwolves on Feb. 3. The Bulls have said they will proceed conservatively with the centerpiece of the Jimmy Butler trade.
Monday is the deadline for rookie-scale contract extensions. General manager Gar Forman, who is talking to LaVine's representatives, has said the Bulls didn't trade Butler to not re-sign LaVine. So it's simply a matter of reaching terms by Monday or, more likely, next offseason when LaVine would become a restricted free agent.
