Chicago Bulls: BR proposes ‘absurd’ trade with the Nets for LaVine

The 25-year-old 6-foot-6 Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine was recently pitched in a BR trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

Where the Chicago Bulls decide to take the rebuild from here is pretty much all up to the new look front office regime of newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. The next cycle of free agency is about to begin, as is the 2020 NBA Draft.

Karnisovas and Eversley then hired former Oklahoma City Thunder and Florida Gators hoops head coach Billy Donovan to replace Jim Boylen as their next skipper. These three will be tasked with deciding what the best way to right the ship this offseason will be for the rebuild.

One option that the Bulls could pursue this offseason to try and give this roster a push in a positive direction heading into the 2020-21 season could be trading a key piece of their young core for a more beneficial return. Two of the more commonly discussed trade chips that the Bulls could use in the right move potentially this offseason are shooting guard Zach LaVine and power forward Lauri Markkanen.

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report pitched a trade piece involving LaVine and the Bulls back on Oct. 15 in his list of “absurd” trade packages with each team’s most “untouchable” star. Buckley considered LaVine to be the most most “untouchable” star in their trade package for the Bulls this offseason.

And this trade package of BR for the Bulls in particular saw them shipping off LaVine to the Brooklyn Nets for a return of a former point guard on this team Spencer Dinwiddie, center Jarrett Allen, and the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. LaVine was the only piece that the Bulls sent to get that aforementioned return of a draft pick, Dinwiddie, and Allen.

Here’s more on what this BR piece had to say on this potential trade deal.

"It’d be a great sign for the Bulls’ rebuild if someone other than Zach LaVine stood out in this exercise, but the occasional pops from their prospects aren’t enough to displace the dunk king. That’s because he’s proved so much more than a dunk king, most recently by being one of only six players to average 25 points, four assists and three three-pointers this past season.But his next playoff trip will be his first. Chicago is also 71-158 since his arrival. That isn’t all on him, of course, but if the Bulls are waiting for him to lead them out of their rebuild, there’s no evidence he makes that kind of impact.He’d be better off in a strong supporting role alongside bigger stars. Get him to Brooklyn—which has reportedly done background work on him to be ready for a possible trade, per SNY’s Ian Begley—and LaVine could choose his spots while upping his efficiency next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. If everyone stays healthy, the LaVine-Durant-Irving-Caris LeVert quartet could steer the Nets to the No. 1 spot in offensive efficiency."

There was another trade package pitched for the Orlando Magic that involved the Bulls in a deal. That had the Magic sending former Florida State Seminoles power forward Jonathan Isaac to the Bulls for a return of the former Arizona Wildcats seven-footer and power forward Markkanen.

It seems like this trade package that Buckley pitched for the Bulls sending LaVine to the Nets would be more beneficial for Chicago than the one exchanging Isaac for Markkanen. The Nets would get to piece together a legitimate big-three alongside superstar forward Kevin Durant and point guard Kyrie Irving.

What Dinwiddie could bring from the Nets for the Bulls is a legitimate quality starter at the one or the two, that could form a very potent starting backcourt alongside Coby White. Allen could also help add frontcourt depth alongside the likes of Daniel Gafford, Wendell Carter Jr., Markkanen, etc.