Grade the Trade: Bulls ship Zach LaVine to Detroit for star prospect

What a Zach LaVine trade would look like for the Bulls and Pistons

Although sending LaVine to a contender would be the ideal scenario for him, Detroit has made for a surprising last-minute contender for his services. Loaded up on young talent and draft picks, there are many ways the Pistons could put together an enticing package for Chicago's front office.

This much is especially true considering the fact the Pistons have cleared an enormous amount of future cap space. After trading away Marvin Bagley last week, the Pistons will have well over $50 million in cap space to spend next summer. Since they're unlikely to attract any big-name free agents, trading for LaVine's massive contract isn't as big of a deterrent as it would be for other teams.

The Pistons clearly want to put quality teammates around Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren to start winning games again. Detroit has remained in the top half of the draft every year since 2016 and hasn't won a playoff series since 2008; this is a team that wants to climb out of the gutter and win now.

Here's what a potential trade to land LaVine in Detroit might look like.

This trade finally entrenches a three-level scorer in Detroit's starting lineup, a perfect pairing alongside one of the league's most promising playmakers in Cunningham. Cade desperately needs a running mate who can dependably score the basketball and you can't ask for much better than LaVine when it comes to raw offensive ability.

In return, the Bulls receive 2022's No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey as well as a quality veteran forward in Bojan Bogdanovic. Ivey would ideally replace the offensive void left by LaVine, while Bojan is a floor-spacing wing who could give Chicago's current talent more room to operate. James Wiseman is a controversial figure among many fans, but he's included solely to make the salaries match here in this deal,

If the Bulls were to trade LaVine to Detroit, this mock trade is probably the most realistic outcome for both sides. But is it a deal worth making in the first place? Let's take a look at how each team benefits from this move.