5 Trades the Bulls should make to get Zach LaVine on a contender
After dropping last night’s game to the Orlando Magic, the Chicago Bulls have fallen all the way to a lowly 4-8 record and are left with more questions than ever. Following a relatively inactive offseason, I can’t possibly imagine how the front office believed this team would yield different results, but here we are.
Fortunately, it appears change is on the horizon for the Bulls. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that talks to trade Zach LaVine are progressing past the “exploratory” stage of last year, and there’s a very real possibility that he could be playing for a new team soon. Here’s what Shams had to say in his latest report:
"NBA teams are probing the availability of Bulls two-time All-Star Zach LaVine and there is increased openness from both sides about exploring a trade, sources say… Many of the NBA’s 30 general managers are in Chicago on Tuesday for the annual Champions Classic, the major opening night of the college basketball season, and this is where conversations could begin. The Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are expected to have a level of interest, league sources said."
Zach LaVine’s time with the Chicago Bulls could be coming to a close after seven long years with the team.
With this news in mind, I believe it’s important we remain in the realm of rationality rather than just shooting off random trade proposals here. Keeping that in mind, we’ll be focusing on the teams most likely to be at the forefront of trade talks here. Charania names the Lakers, Heat, and 76ers as teams likely to show interest in LaVine, with a few other contenders likely to get involved in the mix as well.
"Teams that are expected to have a level of interest in (Zach) LaVine, I'm told: the Lakers, Heat and 76ers."
— The Rally (@TheRally) November 14, 2023
NBA Insider @ShamsCharania on a potential trade for LaVine. pic.twitter.com/lMw7PHFLf0
That being said, not all trade offers are created equally. Not all of these teams have the assets necessary to land LaVine. Among the ones that do, not all are willing to part ways with those assets to land LaVine. Let’s take a look at the five teams most likely to trade for LaVine, and just what those trades might look like if they actually take place.