The state of the Chicago Bulls is one of the most frustrating situations in basketball. Last year, the Bulls were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for a brief period of time. Then, Lonzo Ball went down with an injury and the team has not looked the same. Ball has not played since February. The Bulls scuffled into the playoffs, lost a first-round series, and then paid the richest contract in franchise history for Zach LaVine.
- Dallas Mavericks
- Miami Heat
- Toronto Raptors
- Los Angeles Lakers
- New York Knicks
- Next
- Zach LaVine Wants To Play For The Los Angeles Lakers, Says NBA Executive
- NBA Insider Reveals List Of 8 Los Angeles Lakers Trade Targets
- NBA Rumors: Lakers Could Land Myles Turner For Two Players And A First-Round Pick
- Ranking The Best NBA Players By Category In The 2022-23 Season
- The Chicago Bulls All-Time GOAT Pyramid
LaVine could be a player that the Bulls trade this year. There is a growing disconnect between LaVine and the Bulls. It’s not uncommon to see a player get traded in the first year of his max contract. We saw it happen with Blake Griffin with the Detroit Pistons during the 2017-18 season. We also saw Kevin Durant ask for a trade before this season before rescinding his trade request. With that said, LaVine’s situation is similar to Durant’s. His contract could be a reason that the team could look to trade another star. The trade deadline will be here before we know it.
The player with the most stock on the team is DeMar DeRozan, who is coming off a season where he was an All-NBA Second Team selection. DeRozan is currently averaging 25.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and shooting 50.4% from the field. There are plenty of contenders that would give a trade package for DeRozan. It’s been reported that DeRozan could look to ask the Bulls to trade him this summer. If that is the case, there could be a rush on trading DeRozan before the deadline.
Five teams stand out above the rest. These trades could happen now or later but these are the five trade packages for DeRozan.
Dallas Mavericks
Trade Package: Davis Bertans, Dwight Powell, 2024 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick for DeMar DeRozan
The Mavericks would need to move a player with a high salary to match the contract of DeRozan. Bertans is the team’s worst contract at about $16 million per season. His final season is a player’s option, so the Bulls would likely have Bertans for two more seasons. Dwight Powell is playing the final year of his contract and is making $11 million, so at least the Bulls would have some salary relief for next season. If the Bulls were happy with two first-round picks and some salary relief, it might be enough to bite on Bertans’ bad contract.
Adding DeRozan to the mix could help send Spencer Dinwiddie to the bench. The team could run Kemba Walker, Reggie Bullock, and Dinwiddie in the second unit. The Mavericks could boast a starting rotation of Luka Doncic, DeRozan, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, and Christian Wood. The Mavericks made the Eastern Conference Finals last year. This would give the team two clutch players in Doncic and DeRozan.
Miami Heat
Trade Package: Duncan Robinson, Victor Oladipo, Gabe Vincent, 2024 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick for DeMar DeRozan
The Heat are really feeling buyer’s remorse for Duncan Robinson. He has three years left on his contract that will pay him about $18 million a season, with the final year of his contract being a player’s option. He is in the second year of his five-year, $90 million contract. This season, he is averaging 6.6 points and shooting 32.0% from three-point range. Getting rid of this deal should be a focal point for the Heat to get better.
The question is, who would actually take this deal? The Bulls would have to absorb one bad contract to match the salary for DeRozan. Victor Oladipo is making about $9 million and would need to be added. He could be a player that the team could flip next season. Gabe Vincent is an intriguing young prospect, while two first-round picks would give the Bulls three potential young players for their star player. The Heat would have a potential starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, DeRozan, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo.
Toronto Raptors
Trade Package: O.G. Anunoby, Thaddeus Young, 2023 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick for DeMar DeRozan
The Raptors are in a strange position. The team potentially has two more seasons of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet (player’s option), and Gary Trent Jr. (player’s option). VanVleet and Trent are considered trade options as well if the Raptors decide to tank. However, the team could decide to go all in and acquire DeRozan. That would give the Raptors Siakam, VanVleet, Trent, and DeRozan with contracts expiring in 2024. The team could roll the dice for this season and next season with a lineup that would also feature Scottie Barnes and Chris Boucher.
That could be enough to give up a player like O.G. Anunoby. If the Bulls trade DeRozan, that means they are trying to build around Zach LaVine. The team doesn’t need another guard because the team has Lonzo Ball under contract for two more years. Assuming Ball is healthy, the team would bring in a 6-foot-7, 232-pound small forward that plays solid defense and is averaging 18.7 points and 5.8 rebounds this season, who is also under contract for potentially two more years. Thaddeus Young, a great friend of LaVine, would return due to salary matching, while the first-round picks could be stashed for later deals.
Los Angeles Lakers
Trade Package: Russell Westbrook, 2027 first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick for DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic
This would be an ideal situation for the Bulls. The team would receive an expiring deal for Westbrook that would give the Bulls financial flexibility moving forward. The Lakers have a two to three-year window competing right now. Assuming that LeBron James was off of the team in three years’ time, the Lakers would likely be a low-performing team by 2027. The draft pick might be in the upper tier of the draft, and that could help the potential contending Bulls, who would have been rebuilding the next few years anyway, a lottery pick to their core of high draft picks.
The Lakers would finally add pieces that surround their two best players, James and Davis. DeRozan could play the shooting guard position and move Pat Beverley to the bench. Lonnie Walker IV could keep his spot in the small forward spot. Plus, the addition of Vucevic would give the Lakers a relatively decent big man that can shoot from outside. As for the Bulls, the team gave up two first-round draft picks for Vuvcevic, so in a way, the team would recoup their lost picks.
New York Knicks
Trade Package: Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick for DeMar DeRozan
This is easily the best deal the Bulls could get for DeRozan. The deal for Evan Fournier has two years left, but the 2024-25 season is a team option. If Fournier could prove himself worthy of keeping a job by then, that is great, but realistically the team would keep Fournier for one year for $10 million. With this, the Bulls would send a message that the team is going to tank, so the addition of Derrick Rose would sell seats. Everyone saw how the place erupted when he returned to the United Center. Fans would continue to purchase tickets despite a bad product as long as Rose wore a jersey.
For the Knicks, this purely makes the team better. Fournier has been a bust this season, while Rose has fallen out of the rotation in favor of Miles McBride. Quentin Grimes could move to a reserve role, while DeRozan could play shooting guard. The abilities of DeRozan and RJ Barrett could likely see them switch positions if needed. A starting rotation of Jalen Brunson, DeRozan, Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson might be good enough to compete for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
