The Chicago Bulls have some important offseason decisions ahead of them, especially considering they have a multitude of different directions in which they could take the franchise. Arturas Karnisovas wants to keep the current core together, but that could be unwise, especially considering the group’s lack of success.
If there were ever a time for the Bulls to rebuild, it would be now, as there are plenty of teams that could be looking to add win-now assets. Plus, getting off the Zach LaVine contract early could help them as the new CBA enters into play. One recent mock trade would see them do just that.
During a recent Bleacher Report live stream, Lauren Gunn of The Objective Basketball Podcast suggested a deal that would send LaVine to the Brooklyn Nets, helping the Bulls hit the reset button in the process.
Mock trade sees Bulls ditch Zach LaVine in deal with Nets: The trade
Here’s the full outline of the trade:
Bulls receive: Joe Harris, Royce O’Neale, Patty Mills, Any first-round picks Bulls ask for
Nets receive: Zach LaVine
Mock trade sees Bulls ditch Zach LaVine in deal with Nets: Why Bulls make this trade
Gunn’s co-host, Esfandiar Baraheni, gave some rationale as to why the Bulls would be interested in such a trade, comparing it to the recent Bradley Beal move.
“If you’re a Bulls fan, for your franchise player, getting a return of Royce O’Neale, Patty Mills, and maybe a couple of picks for LaVine, is not what you would expect for a return for that caliber of player,” Baraheni said. “I think the injury issues play a part. I think the fact that his contract is really, really big plays a factor. We just saw what happened with Bradley Beal. Obviously, the no-trade clause changes the scenario a little bit, but to be fair, I think that’s why LaVine’s value is a little bit lower than what people think it is.”
Mock trade sees Bulls ditch Zach LaVine in deal with Nets: Should the Bulls make this trade?
Whether or not the Bulls should make this move entirely depends on what draft picks they could snag from the Nets.
If they could add one or two of the future Phoenix Suns picks owed to Brooklyn, then it might be worth it, as, by the time those selections convey, the Suns may not be super competitive anymore.
All in all, however, this would be a perfect start-fresh move for Chicago, as they could also let DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic go, getting assets in return for them.
If the Bulls want to rebuild with a completely new roster, this would be a sneaky-good trade, despite the return looking rough.
