The Chicago Bulls are in a tough spot. After losing in the Play-In Tournament last season and getting bounced in the first round the year prior, their squad hasn’t changed. Outside of the additions of Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig, the roster is the same, and the primary core pieces are still in town.
Questions quickly emerged this summer as to whether or not the Bulls should rebuild, and while said questions still exist, Chicago decided to stick with their core. But what if they end up struggling this year? Could they consider some potential trades to blow up the roster?
Buy Bulls TicketsZach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently wrote a trade idea that would see them do just that, flipping Zach LaVine to the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young.
Mock trade sees Chicago Bulls flip Zach LaVine to Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young
Here’s the full outline of Buckley’s mock deal:
Bulls receive: Trae Young
Hawks receive: Zach LaVine, 2027 first-round pick
This is why Buckley believes the Bulls should take a chance on this type of trade:
“While the Bulls haven’t wavered in their belief in this core, they also have yet to solve the point guard problems created by Lonzo Ball’s ongoing absence,” Buckley wrote. “It’s possible that Jevon Carter, Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu pops in a way that answers that question, but the chance of that happening is lower than you’d want with a win-now roster.”
Buckley sees Young as a great fit next to Chicago’s other stars:
“Meanwhile, Young might be a savvy enough playmaker to connect all of the dots on this Chicago team,” Buckley wrote. “Opposing teams would face a series of tough decisions trying to wrangle Young, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević on offense, and maybe head coach Billy Donovan could summon the same magic that helped this offense-leaning roster land a surprising fifth in defensive efficiency last season.”
Should the Bulls make this trade?
If this trade were to present itself, the Bulls should seriously consider it. It’s far from a perfect trade, and it would definitely be a risk, considering Chicago is forfeiting a first in the deal, but Young’s playmaking would be an amazing fit on this Bulls roster.
Plus, Chicago has built a solid defense, so taking on a defensive liability like Young wouldn’t be as big of a risk. With guys like Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, Torrey Craig, and Patrick Williams on board, Young could be hidden pretty well on that end.
That said, LaVine has been a huge part of Chicago’s new-look core, and giving him up would be a huge change.
Should the Bulls make this move? Maybe. (They should at least consider it). But would they? Probably not.
