The New York Knicks are the ideal team to do this deal with, as they have both desirable draft picks and young assets that could be intriguing to the Bulls.
As I have written in a previous article, if the Bulls were to initiate a rebuild, banking on the draft class of 2020 is not the way to go about it. The class is rather shallow, with limited talent outside of the top few picks, and even this talent comes with very high risks.
Rather, the Bulls could focus on the loaded class of 2021, with players such as Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham on the board.
LaVine would more than certainly yield a haul from any team, and the Knicks would be no exception. Asking for a pair of first rounders is not an unreasonable price tag for LaVine, but the Bulls find very good value in the Knicks’ 2021 first rounder in that the pick will almost certainly end up being a lottery pick.
With LaVine off of the roster, it becomes almost certain that the Bulls do not make the playoffs, which would mean that Arturas Karnisovas would have two presumably early lottery picks to work with in a fresh rebuild, along with many other young assets to keep or move.
The Bulls would also acquire former top-ten pick Kevin Knox in this deal, who showed flashes of immense talent at Kentucky and in his rookie Summer League campaign, but has been quite disappointing in his first two professional seasons.
Knox, still just 20 years of age, could still develop into a very good NBA player for the Bulls, but the clock is certainly ticking for the young forward. Letting Knox go may be a tough pill to swallow for the Knicks, but New York would also be acquiring a young forward who has shown signs of being a very solid NBA player in Chandler Hutchison.
Additionally, grabbing Daniel Gafford from Chicago would give the Knicks a promising young shot blocker and rebounder to play behind Mitchell Robinson.
It is unclear what the Knicks wish to do with LaVine on the roster, but recent reports have made it clear that they are interested in the Bulls’ star. Perhaps playing him as a point guard could be the play, or even moving rookie R.J. Barrett to the small forward spot and allowing LaVine to continue playing the two.
Regardless, LaVine could make a very good compliment the young Barrett, barring his development continues. A core of Barrett, LaVine, Robinson, and whoever they select with this year’s draft pick could be a very good group to go forward with, while the Bulls would begin to re-evaluate the shakeup that occurred just a few years ago.