3. Trade him while his stock is high
This is always a controversial reason why the Bulls should trade a player. But it is also something that the Bulls were extraordinarily bad at in recent memory. The Bulls didn’t really get anything out of some of their recently departed stars, or at least as much as they could’ve originally. That was put on prime display in the trade that brought LaVine to the Windy City.
While the return that the Bulls got from the Minnesota Timberwolves back during the 2017 offseason in exchange for star small forward Jimmy Butler.
That trade didn’t work out all that well for the Bulls or the Timberwolves. The destinations where Butler made his value the best known were actually with the Philadelphia 76ers last season and the Miami Heat this year.
However, the Bulls could do better now if a team like the Knicks or the Nets would be willing to offer a significant return that could actually benefit this new look front office. And if recently hired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley don’t see a future with LaVine, then they should go ahead and move on from him now.
In the season that was with the Bulls, LaVine posted career-highs in box plus/minus rating (2.5), win shares (3.9), defensive rating and defensive box plus/minus rating (110, -0.8), win shares per 48 minutes (.092), and player efficiency rating (19.5). His value is at an all-time high entering the thick of the 2020 offseason.