Anthony Davis Trade: 3 Chicago Bulls thoughts post-Lakers deal
What the Chicago Bulls get to keep
According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, the Chicago Bulls were looking to at least shop every player on the roster outside of center Wendell Carter Jr. and power forward Lauri Markkanen. That list would include rising star shooting guard Zach LaVine, who is one of the best young scorers in the Eastern Conference right now.
The trade rumors for LaVine going to the Lakers or Pelicans really started to catch on among NBA fans and the media lately. The Bulls were one of the teams that were reportedly included in the multi-team trade talks that would actually allow the Lakers and Pelicans to pull off that Anthony Davis trade LeBron so desired.
One clarification: Beck and I had a spitballing session on who the Lakers/Pels might be able to get for 4th pick. I mentioned a bunch of potential targets, including Zach LaVine. That was just me speculating, not reporting. Worded it inelegantly, apologies for that. https://t.co/cxcbe1Pd01
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 13, 2019
However, all it took for the Lakers to land AD was a good chunk of their young core and three first round picks. One of the first round picks comes this year and the other two will be future protected selections. Pelicans general manager David Griffin got quite the haul for a player that didn’t want to be playing in NOLA this year.
Keeping LaVine around is very important for the Bulls compared to shipping him out for a return that could include Lonzo and the fourth overall pick. If the Bulls were able to involve a piece like point guard Kris Dunn or shooting guard/small forward Denzel Valentine, that might be more favorable. That just wasn’t reality in this situation, though.