The Chicago Bulls have strapped themselves into a plane that's going nowhere. It's not going up or down, and it doesn't seem to have a destination. It's just in the air, flying at the same altitude, heading in the same direction.
The franchise needs to lighten the load so it can touch the ground, even if it's a crash landing.
The Bulls have been trying to trade Zach LaVine for more than a year. Apart from a brief reported interest from the Denver Nuggets, there's been no concrete evidence that any other team will take on Chicago's 29-year-old guard despite his All-Star-caliber season.
Nikola Vucevic is another piece of luggage that must be unloaded; unlike with LaVine, it appears there's a decent chance Chicago's big man is playing elsewhere by the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig have barely gotten off the bench this season but could be helpful rotation pieces on a contender looking for defense and shooting.
There hasn't been any real positive news for the Bulls on the trade front, and Bobby Marks of ESPN just tossed out another negative nugget of information that makes Chicago's hypothetical plane seem even more lost.
Financial restrictions are even worse than the Bulls may have realized
The NBA trade market hasn't been dry. The Brooklyn Nets dealt Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers. D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton were part of both of those trades.
The Phoenix Suns landed Nick Richards in a deal involving Josh Okogie.
All those players have something in common, though, as Marks points out—and it's not good news for the Bulls.
Marks adds that trading players whose salaries exceed $20 million is possible but "requires creativity" with the league's new apron rules.
LaVine makes $43 million this season, $46 million next season and has a player option for $49 million in 2026-27. That's a penny over $20 million.
Vucevic's cap hit this season is exactly $20 million. Next season, it jumps to $21.5 million.
Even Lonzo Ball, a high-IQ floor general who could help lead a bench unit for any team in the NBA, makes $21.4 million this season, the last on his four-year deal.
That likelihood that LaVine remains in Chicago post-Feb. 6 is high. Vucevic could be traded, but at this point with the Bulls, it's an "I'll believe it when I see it" situation.
The trend that Marks points out is not great news for Bulls fans or anyone who wants to see that plane fly in another direction.
