Before I jump into this any further, I want to emphasize the fact that I think it’s a bad idea for the Chicago Bulls to shop star shooting guard Zach LaVine heading into next season. Given the core that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have formed around LaVine since the trade deadline last season, it makes sense to push for a contract extension ahead of next offseason.
LaVine is up for a likely max-level contract extension next offseason, which is something that should be explored by the front office. He is headed into the final year of his current contract next season. The final year of his current contract will pay him around $18 million.
Who Chicago Bulls could go after in a Zach LaVine trade?
As already one of the more hotly discussed players on the trade market for various media and fan speculation around the hoops landscape, LaVine makes for one of the more high-profile players on the trade block heading into next season. It seems like you just can’t get his and Bradley Beal‘s name away from rampant trade speculation no matter what.
Teams like the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks were still reportedly considering a trade with the Bulls for LaVine at some point this offseason. Those two teams do seem like the type to try and trade for LaVine, given their contender status in the Eastern Conference.
Once again, I’ll note that I don’t think it is wise for the Bulls to shop LaVine, nor do I think that Karnisovas will wind up giving up LaVine before next offseason. The lone reason why the Bulls should want to trade LaVine is if things completely fall apart and this team is out of playoff contention by the arrival of the trade deadline.
If the Bulls do arrive at a point where LaVine is on the trade block by the time the trade deadline arrives, here’s a look at three targets that are worth going after.