Even after the Denver Nuggets emerged victorious to capture the 2023 Larry O’Brien Trophy, it’s still difficult to ignore the feeling that the league currently has more parity and is more wide open than ever in recent years. If any team is going to rise to the challenge and dethrone Denver, they’ll have to make some big moves and swing for the fences. Fortunately, this means the Chicago Bulls have a very real opportunity to take advantage and finally turn the direction of their franchise around.
With the 2023 offseason looking primed to get busier than ever, the Bulls seem willing to get involved in the action this summer. We’ll undoubtedly see countless trades take place ahead of this year’s draft and free agency periods, but there is one thing casting doubt in the minds of many Bulls fans: should Zach LaVine be traded this offseason?
Initially, this seemed like an improbability, but recent reports from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports indicate that a LaVine trade may not be as improbable as expected.
THIS JUST IN:
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) June 15, 2023
The Chicago Bulls have started contacting teams and "quietly gauging the trade interest in Zach LaVine," per @JakeLFischer.
If the Chicago Bulls surprise everyone by trading All-Star guard Zach LaVine this summer, they’re sure to get a hefty haul in return.
If LaVine were to be traded, it would surely be only just the first shocking domino of many to fall as the Bulls retool their roster and aim toward the future. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic would likely soon follow, as the veterans would almost surely prefer to compete for a championship at this stage of their careers rather than waste their last few productive years mentoring the youth.
As wild as this might sound, Chicago’s front office has the track record to prove it may not be all that unrealistic. We saw how swiftly Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley acted in 2021 when they decided it was time to switch directions by inking DeMar, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball to deals all in the span of one week.
It’s hard to say right now just how willing they are to trade LaVine and rebuild, but we’re fairly confident he would fetch an impressive haul of young talent and draft picks should he be traded. With that being said, let’s examine a few LaVine-centric trade proposals circulating the internet right now.