Zach LaVine may see his six-season stint with the Bulls end this year as the team and player are both looking towards a trade that sends LaVine to a new contending home sometime this season. Shams Charania has reported that the Bulls are open to trading LaVine, with the Lakers, Heat, and 76ers showing interest.
“Teams have begun probing the Bulls on the availability of Zach LaVine. I am told there is increased openness from both LaVine and the Bulls on a trade. Most of the NBA’s General Managers are in Chicago today, that’s where conversations are expected to begin in earnest. Teams that are expected to have a level of interest in Lavine are the Lakers, Heat, and the 76ers… The sense around the league is that there could be movement in Chicago sooner rather than later.”
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Fans have been asking the Bulls to blow up their roster for a while now, with the team being considered the next team to trade their core away for the last year. Ever since Lonzo Ball’s injury in January 2022, this team hasn’t been competitive at the highest level and has been scraping by with the offensive production of their stars.
After a 4-7 start to the season, it’s good that the Bulls have realized they need to begin a process of change, which starts with moving LaVine to a new home.
What Could Zach LaVine Fetch From Interested Teams?
The value of LaVine is hard to ascertain. On one hand, he’s a multi-time former All-Star with a reliable jumper and high-level scoring ability. He’s still just 28 years old, so he’s also in the middle of his prime. A player with these characteristics would usually require an incredible haul of assets, but there are a few problems with trading for LaVine as well.
He’s injury-prone and has four years, $178 million left on his contract. This could be a problem for some teams like the 76ers, who have been eyeing millions in open cap room this summer. But it seems a multi-team bidding war could lead to the Bulls maximizing their return for a distressed asset like LaVine.
When it comes to the 76ers, the Bulls will likely want the picks they just acquired from the Clippers for James Harden. The 76ers will argue Harden was more valuable than LaVine, but the interest of other teams puts Chicago in a position to name their price. If Daryl Morey wants to give up some of the veteran forwards they acquired with two picks, we could see Joel Embiid finish this season with a backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and LaVine.
The Heat will offer their trusted package of Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson with multiple first-round picks to get this deal done. The Lowry expiring contract would be good for the Bulls but Robinson’s long-term deal would be harder to accept. Given the limited salary flexibility the Heat have, they will likely throw in Nikola Jovic as a young star to limit the pick capital they have to part with to have a supercharged scoring backcourt with Tyler Herro.
Finally, the Lakers have probably the best package to offer. They will likely have to give up D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura, with Gabe Vincent’s contract also probably needing to be added in. They also have multiple picks, but the quality of players being Russell and Hachimura already outshines what the Heat and 76ers were offering. This could be his next likely destination, as LaVine also played NCAA ball at UCLA.
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