The Chicago Bulls are in a tough spot. Their future outlook is bleak. While they made strides toward improvement this summer, they will not be among the top teams in the East. They’ll face an uphill battle in their quest to make the playoffs this year, and if they fail again, they could have to seriously consider a rebuild.
If and when the Bulls decide to hit the reset button, Zach LaVine will almost surely be one of the first players to go. Zach Buckley’s recent article for Bleacher Report explored deals for every team to get rid of their worst contract.
Buy Bulls TicketsIn his idea for the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bulls ship LaVine to their division rival.
Mock trade sees Bulls deal Zach LaVine to Bucks for Khris Middleton
Here is the full outline of Buckley’s trade idea:
Bulls receive: Khris Middleton, Grayson Allen, Marjon Beauchamp, 2029 first-round pick
Bucks receive: Zach LaVine
This is why Buckley believes Milwaukee should be interested in the trade:
“Trading Middleton (and much of its remaining assets) for LaVine would allow Milwaukee to get younger and more dynamic on the offensive end.
“LaVine, 28, has had his own knee trouble in the past, but if that’s behind him, he could add electric scoring, ignitable shot-making and secondary distributing to this attack. Milwaukee could provide him with the kind of defensive protection he’s never had in his career,” Buckley wrote.
The biggest question is, should the Bulls be interested in a trade like this one?
In short, yes. Middleton’s contract will not age as gracefully as LaVine’s, but he’ll be off the books a year earlier. And his outside shot and off-ball abilities should allow Chicago to reach a similar ceiling to what they could do with LaVine.
Adding Grayson Allen would probably make Bulls fans angry, but Marjon Beauchamp is a nice young piece, and adding a future first could help Chicago make a move down the line.
This deal would help the Bulls stay competitive now while also preparing better for the future.
