CHICAGO — It’s been a week since the first report of Zach LaVine’s openness to a trade out of Chicago cracked open the future of the season for the Bulls.
This a new season of change for the Bulls, who could be entering the early stages of yet another rebuild just three years after starting a new project centered around LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević.
Let’s take a look at the top questions surrounding the latest cycle of trade rumors:
1. Will a trade happen soon?
It depends on what is meant by “soon” — but the short answer is no.
The Bulls need to wait until mid-December to see a full spread of offers from teams throughout the league. This waiting period is mandated by free-agency rules which prohibit players from being traded until Dec. 15 or three months after the date of their contract signing, whichever comes later. Due to this latter clause, some players will not be available until January.
It looks most realistic to expect the Bulls to execute a trade around the Feb. 9 deadline. This gives executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas enough time to leverage a variety of options for a trade.
2. Where will Zach LaVine land?
LaVine already has several landing spots on his radar according to reports by The Athletic and Yahoo Sports: the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.
Two less obvious options are the Sacramento Kings and the San Antonio Spurs, both of which Yahoo Sports reports have also drawn LaVine’s interest.
These options follow a common thread. After making the playoffs only once in his nine-year career, it’s clear LaVine is seeking a surefire way to compete in the postseason. Pairing with stars like LeBron James, Jimmy Butler or Joel Embiid is as close to guaranteed as it gets for playoff contention in the NBA. And Victor Wembanyama is as close to surefire as any rookie phenom can get.
On the flip side, The Athletic reported several teams including the Toronto Raptors have shown interest in obtaining LaVine. As both parties weigh their options, the key question for the Bulls is which team will make the right offer to build the foundation for the next era in Chicago.
3. What should the Bulls expect in exchange for LaVine?
There seems to be a prevailing notion among some fans that because LaVine didn’t work out in Chicago, he won’t garner value on the trade market. That isn’t necessarily the case — but his fit for other rosters paired with the price of his contract makes him a more nuanced trade to land.
Cost is a major factor. After signing a maximum deal in 2022, any team that trades for LaVine will also acquire the rest of his contract, which includes salary of $43 million, $46 million and $48.9 million over the next three seasons. It doesn’t help that LaVine isn’t playing his best basketball this season, which could contribute to any recency bias that naturally impacts decision-making amid trade negotiations.
Still, LaVine is an All-Star scorer who is equally talented in finishing at the rim and behind the arc. He would thrive in an environment where he can play off the ball and attack the rim as a secondary scorer.
If the Bulls are willing to let go of their vision of a team built around LaVine, then they need to acquire building blocks for a new future without him. This should include multiple first-round draft picks in addition to lower-cost players who will help facilitate the transition period in Chicago.
4. Will DeMar DeRozan stay in Chicago?
As of now, it appears the Bulls are focused on keeping DeMar DeRozan in Chicago. The All-Star forward said this summer that he hopes to retire as a Bull. But despite this eagerness from both sides, the two parties have been unable to agree upon a contract extension.
Regardless of whether the Bulls plan to undergo a full rebuild or not, DeRozan is a valuable cornerstone to retain in Chicago. He brings an inimitable veteran presence to the locker room and remains a reliable offensive force, especially in clutch game situations.
DeRozan is eligible for a four-year extension worth approximately $179 million. His original three-year, $81.9 million contract was relatively low-cost, especially given the immediate payout that DeRozan provided. This extension is a jump from that price tag, but it reflects the value DeRozan has already provided to the Bulls.
A report by The Athletic last month stated DeRozan wants to see the path the front office is setting the team on before committing to an extension, which makes sense for a 34-year-old veteran likely settling into one of the last deals of his career.
5. Will the Bulls trade Alex Caruso? How about Patrick Williams?
Perhaps the simplest trade asset the Bulls have on their roster isn’t LaVine — it’s Alex Caruso.
Caruso’s affordable $10 million salary and roster adaptability make him both a valuable and easily movable asset. He’s an All-Defensive talent who naturally transforms any roster’s rigor on the perimeter and in transition. He can come off the bench or slot into a starting lineup. And his improved 3-point shooting — a career-high 50% on 3.2 attempts per game — only bolsters that trade value.
If they sought out a trade, the Bulls could easily swap first-round draft capital for Caruso. The front office, however, has been completely unwilling to part with Caruso in the past. If that changes, it will be the most reliable sign the Bulls are embarking upon a rebuild rather than retooling the roster in the wake of a LaVine trade.
Fourth-year forward Patrick Williams is another interesting potential trade piece. He’s never come close to meeting the expectations that were laden on him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2020. Yet Williams remains of interest to teams throughout the league, according to a recent report by Marc Stein.
The Bulls did not sign Williams to a rookie contract extension at the deadline in October, which means they risk allowing him to walk free next summer if they don’t trade him this season.
6. Why didn’t this work in Chicago?
This is a big-picture question, but it’s going to be the one that lingers throughout this season.
On paper, it feels like this should work. Put together a central trio of All-Stars. Bring in top role players like Caruso. Let the group jell and then reap the success.
But that hasn’t been the case for the Bulls. They never pivoted after Lonzo Ball’s injury disrupted their temporary success. They made major whiffs in the draft like Williams and Dalen Terry, which has led to a franchise that seems to flounder with youth development. And they didn’t provide DeRozan and LaVine enough backup around the perimeter to meaningfully compete on offense.
The most honest answer to this question is that Karnišovas didn’t react fast enough.
This roster hasn’t worked since the early months of the 2021-22 season, yet Karnišovas and the Bulls front office balked during two free agency periods and two trade deadlines that followed. The Bulls blundered forward with apparent ambivalence toward change this year, adding Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig as if those Band-Aids could patch together the glaring holes in the roster design.
As the Bulls approach a possible LaVine trade, the front office needs to make a commitment. No more Band-Aids. No more temporary fixes. Building a holistic roster takes time and patience, but it also requires the wherewithal to adapt when a roster clearly isn’t working.
Otherwise, the team will be facing this same set of questions in four more years.
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