Chicago Bulls: Cowley equates trading LaVine to winning consistently

The discussions surrounding the trade speculation of the Chicago Bulls star shooting guard Zach LaVine vary greatly depending on who you’re talking to. There’s not many that sit firmly in the camp that LaVine deserves to be traded at this point in time, at least among big Bulls fans. LaVine has truly proved himself in a big way out of the gates this season.

The last thing that LaVine deserves at this point is disrespect and getting shopped around by the Bulls new front office regime as if they had no other choice but to trade him. The way that LaVine is playing out of the gates this season should be more than worthy to get his first career NBA All-Star selection.

There was a valid argument deserved to get his first career All-Star nod last season, especially since All-Star Weekend was hosted at the United Center in Chicago.

However, there is a camp around the NBA media landscape that thinks it is best for the Bulls to cash out now while LaVine’s stock is high. That would at least give him the chance to contend for a title in the near future. That likely wouldn’t happen with the Bulls anytime soon, at least as it appears at this moment.

A piece from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times on Feb. 11 showed where he sat in the spectrum of the LaVine trade discussions. Cowley believes that if “winning is the rule” then the Bulls essentially must need to trade LaVine prior to the deadline this year.

What Cowley said about LaVine and the Chicago Bulls

Here’s more on what he had to say on the matter in this piece.

"But fully investing in LaVine is unlikely to bring the Bulls anything beyond mediocrity.There will be more 46-point nights like Wednesday. But there won’t be real winning. The Bulls might advance from the early rounds of the playoffs, but legitimately chasing a championship — the goal of their new front office?No, because winning sets the rules. If LaVine were willing to take an extension that pays him $75 million over three years, that would leave proper room to build around him. But history suggests it won’t happen. He felt disrespected in the 2018 offseason when the Bulls allowed him to test restricted free agency and he received an offer sheet from the Kings, which the Bulls matched."

That at least was the meat of the article that explained the point of view that Cowley is taking on the ordeal. And while you can see Cowley’s point of view, it’s hard to argue that trading LaVine would do anything to help this young Bulls core at the moment.

LaVine is having yet another career year, where an All-Star selection might be the least of his individual aspirations. Obviously getting to the playoffs for the first time in his more than five year long NBA career has to be a goal of his.

Moreover, LaVine has shined while playing in all 25 games for the Bulls so far this season (starting in all of them), averaging around 36 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 28.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks. LaVine shot a very efficient 51.9 percent from the field, 43.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.3 percent from the free-throw line.

That all has amounted to a solid career-best 3.8 box plus/minus rating, 1.3 value over replacement player rating, .154 win shares per 48 minutes, 2.9 total win shares, 117 offensive rating/114 defensive rating, 65.0 true shooting percentage, and a 22.6 player efficiency rating.

LaVine and the Bulls currently boast a record of 10-15, following their 125-106 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers at home at the United Center on the night of Feb. 12. Next up for the Bulls is a meeting with the divisional foe Indiana Pacers on the road on Feb. 15.