Breaking down the best all-in offer Chicago Bulls can make for Damian Lillard

The Chicago Bulls would need to decide between Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan

It should be clear that if the Chicago Bulls truly want to pursue Damian Lillard, which we still don’t know how interested they’d be, a third team would be a necessity. The Bulls don’t have the necessary assets straight up to trade for Lillard. Bringing in a third team would allow the Bulls to send one of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan to acquire additional assets that could be sent to Portland.

On paper, you’d imagine that deciding between LaVine and DeRozan could be quite complicated.

Though, considering that DeRozan and Lillard share the same agent, there’s a belief that the Bulls acquiring Lillard would mean that DeRozan is the player that remains with the team and secures a contract extension (DeRozan is entering the final season of his contract with the Bulls).

To a certain extent, that’s a bit surprising. Even though it’s understandable for the Bulls to want to make a splash before the start of the season, I’m not sure how much traction a “Big Three” of DeRozan, Lillard, and Nikola Vucevic is going to make in the Eastern Conference.

At least for now, all signs point to the Bulls looking to send LaVine out in an attempt to acquire more assets to offer Portland in a possible Lillard deal.