Shipping off shooting guard Zach LaVine would be a big gamble for the Chicago Bulls, and it would have to come with a really juicy return.
Entering the 2020 offseason, it looked like all options should be on the table for how the Chicago Bulls could alter the organization from the top-down. Stemming from the front office all the way down to the current roster, the Bulls needed a sizable overhaul to inject some life into this rebuild heading into its fourth year.
The Bulls finished up the 2019-20 season with a record of 22-43, good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings. That was actually somewhat of a step back from how the Bulls showed out last season. At least the Bulls young core (especially power forward Lauri Markkanen and small forward Otto Porter Jr.) broke through in a big way in February 2019 to inspire confidence heading into last offseason.
But this offseason had a bleaker outlook, until management/ownership actually took action. They started out by demoting former vice president of basketball operations John Paxson to a senior advisor role and parted ways with former general manager Gar Forman entirely. The GarPax regime was replaced by Arturas Karnisovas (lead voice in the front office) and Marc Eversley (general manager).
And more changes were enacted with the hiring of former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan to replace Jim Boylen as the Bulls next head coach. Donovan is a proven winner that could help out players like point guard Coby White, shooting guard Zach LaVine, Markkanen, etc. take that next step for this rebuild.
But there’s also a chance that not all pieces of this young core return next season, if the return is right on the trade block for the Bulls. If the Bulls did manage to move a player like LaVine, what would be the most beneficial landing spots for him?