Chicago Bulls: Three trade packages for Zach LaVine

The Brooklyn Nets are not great trade partners for the Chicago Bulls, as they simply do not have enough to offer a rebuilding team for their star.

Don’t get me wrong: Brooklyn has a very deep roster with a lot of pieces that could be used to make deals elsewhere, however, a deep squad full of veterans approaching the prime of their careers is not what a rebuilding team like the Bulls would be looking for.

In fact, the Nets have shipped their own draft picks away in both this and last year’s draft, which would mean that Chicago would not see the fruits of the LaVine trade until a few years down the road, and even then the Brooklyn pick is highly unlikely to be a good one.

The other parts of this deal for the Bulls would include Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. LeVert is a twenty five year-old scorer who has finally found his stride in the NBA, unsurprising to many who saw his high level of talent coming out of the University of Michigan.

Last summer, the Nets and LeVert agreed to a three-year, $52.5 million deal that would prevent him from hitting restricted free agency in 2020. LeVert’s contract is quite fair and movable, which would be the value Chicago would be looking for in such a deal. If the Bulls were to acquire LeVert for LaVine, the end goal would more than likely be flipping LeVert for future assets. In the meantime, however, LeVert would certainly help the Bulls to put the ball in the bucket.

Finally, Jarrett Allen would come over to Chicago in this deal. Allen is young and phenomenal at what he does, but between him playing behind former NBA All-Star DeAndre Jordan and his outdated style of play, his development has slowed down significantly in year three. Regardless, Allen is a very good shot blocker and rebounder who could find a lot of success coming off of the bench behind Wendell Carter Jr. in Chicago.

Even if Chicago would prefer to ride with Gafford as the backup center going forward, Allen could be a candidate to be flipped for future assets.

This would be an absolute steal for the Brooklyn Nets, who would be able to acquire a legitimate third star without giving up a ton of future assets or a large chunk of their current core. Irving has made it clear that he believes that the Nets need a third star to make serious waves in the NBA, and LaVine is perhaps one of the most realistic and best-fitting options for Brooklyn.