NEWSLETTER
The consistent flow of Zach LaVine trade rumors over the last year reached a new peak on Tuesday afternoon. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that both the Bulls and LaVine were open to exploring trade opportunities this season. This marked the first time that interest from LaVine’s camp in a potential deal was made public.
Before we continue, make sure to catch up on all of that here.
Immediately after this report surfaced, two concerns came to mind. Not only do I feel like this front office slightly jumped the gun on letting this news leak, but the motive behind a possible trade remains rather ambiguous.
As the ball gets rolling on what is sure to be a busy next few weeks of Bulls drama, I thought we’d discuss both those concerns in a bit more detail. First, let’s start with a key date to remember.
Wait to Trade Zach LaVine Until Dec. 15
If the Chicago Bulls trade Zach LaVine before December 15, it might as well be organizational malpractice. Most players who inked a new contract this offseason can not be traded until at least Dec. 15. We’re talking about a pool of over 90 players. Knowing Zach LaVine is owed $137.9 million over the next three seasons, including his $40 million payday in 2023-24, those offseason contracts may be necessary for interested teams to pitch/pull off a competitive deal.
For example, if a contending team like the Lakers wanted to include D’Angelo Russell’s $17.3 million as salary filler, they wouldn’t even be able to until mid-December. And, to be clear, that example doesn’t mean I’m advocating for a Lakers deal. I’m most certainly not.
To put it simply, the door opens that much wider on this date. Not only can several contenders then throw their hats in the ring in earnest, but their ability to formulate multi-team deals becomes far easier.
Could things get awkward knowing everyone has to wait a month? Absolutely. But I don’t expect LaVine to ruffle many feathers after he’s repeatedly stuck by this organization in the public sphere. Not to mention, it could also be in his camp’s best interest for him to wait things out. The chance of him landing in a more favorable spot come December is far higher.
Don’t Retool … Rebuild
Unfortunately, this latest Zach LaVine trade rumor doesn’t feel like the surefire sign of a rebuild that it should be. The truth of the matter is that The Athletic’s Shams Charania mentioned the Chicago Bulls’ desire to re-sign DeMar DeRozan in his latest article. While he also reiterated that the two sides remain far apart on a potential deal, the team’s admiration for DeRozan has been well-documented since he arrived in Chicago.
With that said, the last thing they should do is re-sign DeRozan knowing that LaVine is out the door. I’d be lying if I said I’m not tremendously scared of this front office using LaVine to add win-now role players to build around a 34-year-old forward. For as much respect as I have for DeRozan, he is no longer a building block, particularly for a franchise as far away from the limelight as the Chicago Bulls.
The front office has remained adamant, however, that they want to win. Their willingness to take the long road to that destination went out the door during their first-ever trade deadline, so how can we be sure they’re ready to change their mindset? I mean, let’s reflect on what Arturas Karnisovas said during this season’s Media Day in October:
“I think the big thing is to make adjustments. The league is changing very year. Besides building through the draft, you have to be looking at opportunities in free agency and you got to look at opportunities in trades,” Karnisovas told reporters. “I think that approach never changes. The thing is this market is exciting. You know, they like their teams to succeed, and they want to see their teams succeed every year. That’s a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The concern would be that moving Zach LaVine is seen as an “adjustment” for the Bulls’ brass as opposed to the obvious step backward that it is. If the desire remains to build a win-now product and playoff-caliber team, moving LaVine goes directly against that philosophy.
Say what you will about his start to the season, but he is the 28-year-old two-time All-Star who is under contract for multiple years. In other words, he is the piece you try to retool around by trading someone like DeMar DeRozan and/or by GOING INTO THE FREAKIN’ LUXURY TAX TO ADD BIG-NAME TALENT!
The only way that trading LaVine and keeping a win-now mindset makes sense is if you can turn him into someone higher on the star totem pole. Who actually believes that is a realistic outcome, especially at this point? The Bulls have only lowered their leverage in trade negotiations by waiting for the wheels to fall off and allowing word to leak that Zach LaVine is now interested in a trade. Can they still get a suitable return for his services? Yes, but that return wouldn’t be the kind that promotes more winning in the short term.
If the front office doesn’t view a LaVine trade as an opportunity to establish a bright long-term future, they’re doing it all wrong.
