Bulls' Zach LaVine: At least a month away from taking contact

LaVine (knee) is not expected to begin taking contact until November, per coach Fred Hoiberg, KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Analysis:

LaVine continues to work back from a torn ACL, which he sustained in February, and with the Bulls poised to be one of the worst teams in the East, there's little motivation to rush the UCLA product back. Still, considering the typical ACL timeline, LaVine appears to be ahead of schedule, and if he does, indeed, begin taking contact in November, it's realistic to forecast a return sometime before the calendar turns to 2018. In the meantime, expect Justin Holiday, Jerian Grant and Denzel Valentine to shoulder much of the burden at shooting guard after the Bulls bought out Dwyane Wade on Monday.