NBA Trade Rumors: The Chicago Bulls are heading into the offseason prepared to make some big changes to their roster around Zach LaVine.
If the Chicago Bulls figure out a way to improve the roster this offseason with the limited flexibility and assets they have, it will be a testament to this team’s front office and overall brain trust.
For a roster that has plenty of uncertainty surrounding it, there’s at least one player that the Bulls appear sold on – Zach LaVine.
According to a recent report, the Bulls are prepared to retool their roster around LaVine as the team’s No. 1 option. Assuming this report is accurate, I would have a few questions about the Bulls and this philosophy moving forward.
Has Zach LaVine become untouchable for the Chicago Bulls?
For one, if LaVine wasn’t viewed as the team’s clear No. 1 before, that’s not a great look. Nevertheless, I can’t help but wonder what moves the team would’ve and wouldn’t have made had this been the outlook before.
Additionally, what does this mean for the rest of the supporting cast that is under contract? Does this mean that the team is now open to moving DeMar DeRozan? Obviously, there are big questions surrounding Lonzo Ball, but where does he fit in this entire equation?
Or maybe this entire report is basically, “look, we have no plans on trading him or even taking trade calls on LaVine this summer.”
If that’s what this report is more about, then I do understand that aspect of it. The Bulls are a team that has talent but are still missing a piece or two that could help them become more than an outside threat in the Eastern Conference. One thing that is clear is the fact that LaVine is one of the most underrated stars in the game today.
LaVine is coming off a season in which he averaged 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists on 49 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from 3-point range. He’s clearly a player that can be a No. 1 on a team. And with the right supporting cast, perhaps the Bulls can recover after a rough last season and a half.
The Bulls are a team to watch heading into the offseason and it appears that they have no intentions of trading LaVine.