Grade the trade: Zach LaVine to Lakers move takes new twist in fascinating mock deal

Two things are certain entering the 2024-25 NBA season.

One, trade rumors will continue to swirl around Zach LaVine until he's no longer a member of the Chicago Bulls.

And two, the Los Angeles Lakers will be involved in 99 percent of all mock trades until LeBron James retires or takes his talents (and probably his son) to another franchise.

Also involved in the rumor mill of late has been New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram. Ingram is due a massive raise and New Orleans doesn't want to be the franchise to hand it to him. The lanky forward is also an odd fit beside organizational star Zion Williamson.

So why not include all three parties in a mock trade?

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey did just that, but for seemingly the first time this offseason, the deal didn't have LaVine going straight to LA for some grouping of young players, salary filler and picks.

This time, the deal has a third team and an interesting twist for the Bulls that could speed along their rebuild with a different stable of assets.

The Trade: LaVine to Lakers, Ingram to Bulls, Pelicans finally get bigger

Bailey's full mock trade idea looks like this:

The Lakers would accomplish exactly what they want with this mock move: upgrade around James and Anthony Davis without losing Austin Reeves.

Los Angeles would add a new dimension with a pure scorer in LaVine. LeBron can no longer carry the offensive burden for the Lakers and will need nights off. Davis isn't the shot creator LaVine is and Reeves is still a complimentary player.

LA could use a player like LaVine, who could take over offensively and score 20 to 30 points on any given night.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, would remove themselves from the Ingram situation and add some desperately needed size.

Hayes hasn't established himself as a starting caliber center and likely never will, but with just weeks to go before the regular season starts (and New Orleans faces the Bulls on opening night), the team's best options up front are rookie Yves Missi and journeyman Daniel Theis, who played overseas last year.

Hachimura would give them another big body with some scoring ability to help offset the loss of Ingram.

The Bulls' motives in this deal would be a little more complicated, but when the move is broken down piece by piece, it becomes an interesting proposal.

Grading the trade for the Bulls

In this theoretical deal, Chicago would trade one scorer for another by swapping LaVine for Ingram.

The 27-year-old wing would be a better fit on the Bulls' guard-heavy roster, but the franchise has no room for him long-term and doesn't need to make another mistake with an unnecessary, massive extension.

The same goes for Russell, whose contract also expires after this season.

The most enticing part of this trade is what would potentially come next.

Ingram and Russell could both be rerouted at some point, whether that's immediately following this deal or at the February trade deadline. Chicago could collect more future draft picks or young players in addition to the Lakers' 2029 and 2031 firsts, both of which are intriguing on their own.

The ideal scenario is what the Portland Trail Blazers did last year when they traded Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only did the Blazers get a haul from Milwaukee, but they then forwarded Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics for more assets in what was essentially part two of the same deal.

Neither Ingram nor Russell have the same value Holiday did, but the idea is the same: take what you can get in the original trade and use those pieces to add more future value.