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Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The 9-16 Bulls certainly have changes on the horizon, with the likeliest candidate to get moved being Zach LaVine.
It was reported by NBC Sports Chicago a few weeks ago that the Bulls wanted to trade LaVine before anyone else on their roster to see how the team looked without the disgruntled star in the mix. LaVine’s recent injury allowed them to get a look at that without trading him away, though, and Chicago has improved its play a bit, although it has now dropped its last two games and now sits at 9-16, 12th in the Eastern Conference.
LaVine is averaging 21.0 points and 3.4 assists this season on 33.6 percent shooting from three but looked pretty checked out back when he was healthy enough to be on the floor. That might be because, according to Johnson, LaVine had grown tired of the constant trade rumors surrounding his name and Chicago’s uncertainty as to whether he could lead the team to a championship as its best player:
The first sentence of the above quote is the most important. That LaVine raised that the off-the-court speculation “is on both (sides)” hammers home the root of LaVine’s frustration. He’s well aware that the Bulls tried to trade him last summer, and he’s also grown tired of the internal debate within the organization that he can be a lead player on a championship-contending team. But LaVine’s commitment to his teammates? And his genuine appreciation that the Bulls signed him to a maximum contract even as the internal debate about his on-court decision-making and winning pedigree played out? Those are both as genuine as the diamond earrings that flashed in Zach LaVine’s earlobes.
LaVine talked to the media recently and discussed the trade scuttle surrounding his name, telling fans not to believe the rumors and that he can’t wait to be back out there with the Bulls, among other things:
LaVine said all the right things: “Don’t believe every rumor; can’t wait to get back out there with my guys.” This saga will take some time. #Bulls
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHSports) December 7, 2023
The problem for Chicago, as has been reported by The Athletic and Wojnarowski, is that there doesn’t seem to be much of a trade market for LaVine – and with good reason.
Not only is he injured but when healthy, his on-court production was mediocre at best, at least for a player of his caliber, and his contract, which is through 2026-27 when LaVine has a player option worth $49.0 million, is enormously burdensome.
Who’s going to take on that type of money for a player who has never won anything or led a team to much success, and who often misses weeks at a time with injury? That’s All-NBA money, not third-option-on-a-championship contender money, which is what LaVine probably is at this point.
We can say with certainty: We do not envy the position the Bulls front office is in right now.
For the latest Zach LaVine trade rumors and salary info, click here.
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