The Chicago Bulls have not had an easy time of it since trading away Jimmy Butler. Honestly, the years before trading him away weren’t easy, filled with injuries and playoff disappointments, but at least the Bulls were racking up wins and getting to the playoffs. The first few years after Butler was sent away were painful.
That’s what made last year so exciting, as the additions of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso propelled the Bulls back into the stratosphere of the winners. DeRozan’s late-game brilliance, Ball and Caruso establishing a strong defense from the perimeter, and Zach LaVine’s post-Olympics excellence was a rush of serotonin for Bulls fans.
Since then, it’s all come crashing down. An injury-riddled end to the season saw the Bulls tumble down the standings and get clobbered in the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks. Lonzo Ball still hasn’t played, the young players’ development has stalled, and the Bulls are clinging to 10th place in the Eastern Conference with the East’s 12th-best net rating.
The Chicago Bulls are not where they hoped to be. Is a big trade the answer?
That’s why it’s no surprise that league executives are circling the team like sharks in the water. Will Zach LaVine ask to be traded? And if he is, will the Bulls be willing to move him? In the event that the stars align and he is available, the New York Knicks join the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Dallas Mavericks as one of the teams rumored to want to make a run at him.
What would a trade offer from the Knicks look like? Let’s break one such option down and see if it’s the kind of deal the Bulls should entertain.
What would Knicks’ best shot for Bulls’ LaVine look like?
The New York Knicks held back their assets this summer and saw Donovan Mitchell go to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he is dropping 71 points and looking like an MVP candidate. That could grease the wheels for them to be more aggressive in making an offer to the Chicago Bulls for Zach LaVine.
This trade has a lot of moving parts, but that’s mostly because the Knicks have good young players who make small salaries and salary flotsam that isn’t very valuable, so they have to send a flotilla of players to make a deal work. In this construction, the Bulls send LaVine and Coby White to add a trio of young players in Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin, and Immanuel Quickley, not to mention old friend Derrick Rose.
The Knicks would do this trade because of the lineup it puts together in New York. They could start Jalen Brunson, Zach LaVine, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson. They have been loath to give up Quentin Grimes, but since Barrett’s contract extension makes him difficult to be traded Grimes almost has to be a part of the trade.
Would the Bulls accept the Knicks’ best offer for LaVine?
To evaluate the trade, we have to set aside that the Chicago Bulls are unlikely to reach a point where they decide to make Zach LaVine available before this season’s trade deadline. If things reach a point where the Bulls are willing to deal, would this be the package that works for Chicago?
There is not a premium player heading back to the Bulls, but there rarely are in such trades. The explosion of Lauri Markkanen notwithstanding, the three trades for stars from this summer were heavily weighted toward young prospects and draft assets. The Bulls would be getting both from the Knicks here.
Quentin Grimes would step into the Alex Caruso role, allowing the Bulls to either double down or shop Caruso. Immanuel Quickley is already a better point guard prospect than Coby White, and Obi Toppin gives them some athletic juice. The picks are nothing special.
This isn’t an overwhelming trade offer, but there is a lot to like. The Bulls will probably hope for a higher-ceiling prospect or better draft assets, but they could say yes to this.
Grade: B