“There’s a decent comparison between Devin Booker and Zach Lavine”: DeMar DeRozan joining Chicago mirrors CP3 joining Phoenix as JJ Redick highlights the striking similarities between last year’s Suns and this year’s Bulls

Zach Lavine and the Chicago Bulls are enjoying a resurgent season thus far, and JJ Reddick found some crazy similarities between these Bulls and the Suns from last year.

Currently in the #1 spot in the East, Chicago has completely flipped the script from last year. The Bulls made several moves to get to where they are right now. It all started with getting rid of the old regime by firing John Paxson and Gar Forman and hiring GM Arturas Karnisovas.

Karnisovas then hired Billy Donovan to instill a winning culture within the Bulls organization. It didn’t end there. The Bulls made their first splash move years by trading for all-star Nikola Vucevic. However, last year ended in disappointment as the Bulls finished in the lottery once more.

This offseason, the Bulls completely retooled, bringing in Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso. Those three players, alongside Lavine and Vucevic have willed the Bulls to a 26-10 record, best in the East so far. The story is reminiscent of the Phoenix Suns from last year.

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JJ Redick notices the similarities between Zach Lavine led Bulls and Devin Booker’s Suns from last year

The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Before last season, Devin Booker hadn’t caught a whiff of the playoffs. He was used to putting up big numbers on bad Phoenix Suns teams, and that had people saying that he was an ’empty stats’ guy. Even his 70 point game is remembered for coming during a blowout loss to the Celtics.

Zach Lavine was in a similar position with the Bulls. Sure, he wasn’t the superstar that Booker was, but he was steadily improving each season, culminating in an All-Star selection last year. However, just like Booker, Lavine hadn’t played in or won any meaningful games.

Enter Chris Paul and DeMar DeRozan. Both have been All-Stars and solid, consistent players throughout their careers, but they were never enough to win a Finals with alone. Moreover, DeAndre Ayton and Nikola Vucevic are comparable in their scoring and rebounding mindsets, Alex Caruso mirrors Jae Crowder to some extent with their defensive versatility, and Monty Williams was brought in to change the Suns’ culture just like Donovan.

The Suns, of course, would make a Finals run last year, and while the Bulls haven’t reached that stage yet, it doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it once did. JJ Redick called out these similarities on his YouTube series “The Old Man”, and you can watch it here.

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