Look, we didn’t say “best.”
The Bulls might not be far enough along — even with a new coach and front-office regime — that it matters right now who deserves to be called their best player.
But their most important player? That can be more broadly considered, and it’s probably a more relevant way of looking at the team as it approaches the start of a new season.
In this week’s “Polling Place” — your weekly home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked the “important” question. Zach LaVine? Lauri Markkanen? Coby White?
“I think those three are the most important,” @24arvin83 commented, “along with Wendell Carter Jr.”
Way to narrow it down, pal.
Let the record show that more respondents chose LaVine than anyone else. No doubt, LaVine also would be most commonly considered the team’s best player at the moment. That could change — and soon — and many a Bulls watcher surely hopes it will.
Other subjects this week: slugger Kyle Schwarber and quarterback Mitch Trubisky. On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Who is the Bulls’ most important player?
Time again for our weekly @suntimes "Polling Place" questions. Let your voices be heard! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 3, 2020
Q1: Who is the Bulls’ most important player?
Upshot: Let’s say LaVine digs in at the defensive end and buys in 100% to coach Billy Donovan’s offensive principles. Would all that change the nature of these Bulls? Sure, somewhat. But Markkanen still has tons of room for growth, and White might have the highest ceiling on the team. This one is far from settled.
Poll No. 2: The Cubs likely have bid farewell to Kyle Schwarber. Which better characterizes his performance on the North Side?
Q2: The Cubs likely have bid farewell to Kyle Schwarber. Which better characterizes his performance on the North Side?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 3, 2020
Upshot: Schwarber is “Adam Dunn recreated,” according to @revot14. But that seems to miss the full picture of Schwarber making significant improvement as an outfielder — let’s just say he went from really bad to pretty much OK — while belting a Dunn-like shar of homers and, oh, yeah, also doing a lot of winning.
Poll No. 3: Is there anything Mitch Trubisky could do the rest of this season that would restore your confidence in him?
Q3: Is there anything Mitch Trubisky could do the rest of this season that would restore your confidence in him?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 3, 2020
Upshot: “Not in Chicago,” @Chizona312 wrote. “Play in Canada!” @JBIRD1268 chimed in. Let’s see, we’re going to guess that each of them voted no. They were far from alone.
