The Chicago Bulls are on the verge of a rebuild, with their team now significantly weaker. Having seen Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan leave the team recently, it appears that this roster is not long for the world. And it appears that, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are looking to trade Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.
"So what path will executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas choose? The Sun-Times and several other outlets have reported that Karnisovas still is going to try to trade guard Zach LaVine and center Nikola Vucevic."
"Dealing one or both likely would drop the Bulls into a more advantageous lottery spot. The No. 8 pick they have right now isn’t exactly that."
It appears the Bulls are going to fully commit to this rebuild, working around Lonzo Ball and Josh Giddey going forward. It is important to note that both LaVine and Vucevic have long been linked away from a move out of the Bulls. But a trade for either star may not be as simple.
Zach LaVine's inefficiency as a scorer, combined with his high salary, doesn't make him the most attractive prospect for a team that is contending for a championship. As for Vucevic, his contract is a lot easier to accept, as he earns just $20 million a season and becomes a free agent in 2026. But him being 34 years old and clearly in decline makes trading him a challenge, too.
Zach LaVine Not A Championship Piece
Zach LaVine is earning a lot of money, roughly making a combined $138 million in the next three seasons. For the amount of money he is making, his production is not nearly at the level that it should be. This season, LaVine has averaged 22.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game, while shooting on 52/41/88 splits.
LaVine can be a great second or third option on a potential contender, especially thanks to his scoring ability. But the fact that he makes first-option money, in the NBA under a very strict salary cap structure makes a deal for him very difficult to maneuver.
The Bulls might try to trade LaVine to a team that is trying to tank like the Nets or the Wizards, as they might be willing to take on his salary in exchange for draft picks.
The conjecture surrounding any potential trade for LaVine is that the trading team wouldn't have to give up any draft picks to land him. His bad contract combined with the Bulls' urgency makes it so that teams could just offer to take on his salary and that would be enough for the Bulls to agree to a deal.
Fadeaway World recently pitched a trade idea that sends LaVine to the middling Atlanta Hawks to create a star backcourt with Trae Young, which you can read here.
