Bulls starting lineup and rotation if the unthinkable happens

Zach LaVine has been in trade rumors for what seems like years, and most believe it is just a matter of time before the Chicago Bulls find him a new home. 

The Bulls have reportedly tried, but have yet to find a trade for LaVine that they can stomach. Rather than have to give up draft assets they don’t have just to get off LaVine’s contract, the Bulls may decide that keeping him and letting him build trade value to be the more prudent route. 

If LaVine is healthy and playing well, he’ll be an asset to someone, especially as his contract gets shorter. 

If the Bulls did the unthinkable and kept Zach LaVine, they’d have a fun group of players but one with obvious flaws. 

Possible Chicago Bulls starting lineup and rotation with Zach LaVine 

The Bulls swapped out Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey in a trade that looks increasingly worse for the Bulls. 

They also re-signed Patrick Williams, drafted Matas Buzelis and signed free-agent Jalen Smith. 

The roster may not be a finished product, as the Bulls are obviously going to continue to explore trades for LaVine and possible sign-and-trade options for DeMar DeRozan. 

But here’s what we’d have if the season started today: 

-Josh Giddey/Lonzo Ball 

-Coby White/Ayo Dosunmu 

-Zach LaVine/Matas Buzelis 

-Patrick Williams/Torrey Craig 

-Nikola Vucevic/Jalen Smith 

A three-guard lineup of Giddey/White/LaVine could be fun, as Giddey is a creator who doesn’t need many shots, a guy who can feed both LaVine and White. 

If LaVine were willing to play more off the ball as a spot-up 3-point shooter, this trio could work, at least offensively. 

Defensively, this would be a disaster, as Giddey and LaVine are poor defenders and there is no one to protect the rim to clean up their mistakes. 

You could argue that Jalen Smith should start over Vucevic but that doesn’t solve the problems with perimeter defense. 

If Lonzo Ball is healthy, that Bulls bench would be interesting but also has flaws, as there is not much floor spacing. 

You can see why the Bulls are eager to trade LaVine. With him in there, Coby White’s role is less clear and Chicago would be atrocious defensively. 

I am sure both sides are hoping they can work something out to avoid having to think about this, but the Bulls with LaVine could be a really fun offensive team that would have to score 130 points a night to win.