For the past two seasons, the Chicago Bulls have been rolling with their new-look core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. However, despite having 10 All-Star appearances between the three of them, the Bulls have only won a single playoff game with their current Big 3. But despite that, Chicago further committed to winning this summer.
They re-signed vital pieces, including Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu, and signed Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig in free agency. However, some fans and media have questioned whether or not that was the right decision for the Bulls, as they haven’t had much success with their current core. Blowing up the roster could be the better option.
One mock trade concocted by Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report would see the Bulls do just that, ditching LaVine in exchange for a potentially-brighter future.
Mock trade sees Bulls ditch Zach LaVine in 4-team blockbuster deal: The trade
Here is the full outline of the trade Bailey mocked up:
Bulls receive: Tobias Harris, Caleb Martin, Keon Johnson, 2029 first-round pick swap (via PHI), 2030 first-round pick (via PHI)
76ers receive: Zach LaVine, Tyler Herro, 2029 second-round (via POR)
Heat receive: Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkić, 2029 second-round pick (via PHI), 2028 second-round pick (via CHI)
Trail Blazers receive: James Harden (can be flipped later), Kyle Lowry, Jaime Jacquez, Nikola Jović, 2028 first-round pick (via MIA), 2030 first-round pick (via MIA), 2030 second-round pick (via CHI)
Mock trade sees Bulls ditch Zach LaVine in 4-team blockbuster deal: Bailey's reasoning for the Bulls
This is why Bailey thinks the Bulls should be interested in this trade:
“This is the hardest sell among these teams. You can only entertain it if the Bulls are willing to accept that it’s time to rebuild.
“The deal doesn’t make the Bulls better in the short term, so they’d probably have to be ready to move DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević in separate deals, too.
“In that case, Chicago should entertain the chance to turn a pair of second-round picks into a distant first-rounder, shed the last four years and $178.1 million of Zach LaVine’s contract and take a flyer on 21-year-old Keon Johnson.
“In that scenario, Harris and Martin are little more than salary filler, and Chicago might insist on another pick or young talent from somewhere. But the general idea of tipping off the rebuild is reasonable,” Bailey wrote.
Mock trade sees Bulls ditch Zach LaVine in 4-team blockbuster deal: Should the Bulls do this trade?
If the Bulls are looking to win now, then this obviously would be a terrible trade for them.
However, if they wanted to completely reset their roster and get off of long-term money, then this isn’t awful. That just doesn’t seem to be the direction they want to go in.
Getting two first-round picks and Caleb Martin for LaVine’s massive contract is alright, buy Chicago would probably want more value for their star player.
It’s an okay trade, but with how much the Bulls have invested into their current core, it doesn’t seem like one they’d be interested in.
