NBA Rumors: Hot start could make Zach LaVine a premier trade deadline target

NBA Rumors: After a hot start to the season, Zach LaVine may be a premier NBA Trade Deadline candidate once again.

It's amazing how quickly things and circumstances can change in the NBA in a matter of a few months. Nevertheless, we may have arrived at that point with Zach LaVine. A few months ago, LaVine's trade value was dead in the water. The Chicago Bulls were seemingly desperate to trade him heading into the offseason but couldn't get any teams to bite. Now, after a notably hot start to the season, there's a possibility that all that has changed.

Through the first four games of the season, LaVine has played some of the best basketball of his career. To start the season, LaVine is averaging 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 46 percent shooting from 3-point range. For a player who was coming off his least productive season in seven years, LaVine has bounced back in a huge way through the first week of the season.

LaVine is playing so well that the argument could be made that begun to lay the foundation of rebuilding the narrative around him and, perhaps most importantly for both him and the Bulls, his trade value.

Zach LaVine is rebuilding his reputation

At this point, it's impossible to overlook how good LaVine has been this season. It would be foolish to do so. He deserves praise and now that he's finally healthy, he's performing like the player he should. Plus, it's also become pretty clear that the fit alongside DeMar DeRozan wasn't ideal. That much has become clear with how he's played this season without DeRozan next to him.

Of course, the big question is whether there will be a strong market for him leading up to the trade deadline. There are two things at play here. First, assuming that the Bulls still want to trade DeRozan, there could be. We have to assume nothing has changed for Chicago even though they've gotten off to a solid 2-2 start to the season.

Second, will teams be willing to trade real assets for LaVine this time around? One big reason why he wasn't traded during the offseason was because of the lack of a market. Now that he's begun to rebuild his reputation (and trade value), you'd assume some of that will begin to trade. And as teams become more and more desperate, perhaps LaVine will become a greater option.

Even with his play recently, I still can't imagine the asking price would be high for the Bulls. Deep down, I still believe Chicago wants to desperately move on from him and pivot toward a new build. As his play has rebounded, there's a real opportunity for a team to swoop in and "steal" LaVine before the NBA Trade Deadline.

The questions are, will the right team arise and how desperate are the Bulls to move on from LaVine after all?