Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
After more than a year of trade rumors, I can't handle much more of the "will they or won't they" from the Chicago Bulls with Zach LaVine. And if I can't handle the uncertainty revolving around this situation, I can't imagine the Bulls can. I predict that the Bulls will finally put an end to this nightmare situation in 2025. In fact, if they don't, I'm not sure how the team is going to genuinely go to move forward with their team building. At this point, the Bulls almost have to trade LaVine in order to successfully pivot toward their rebuild.
What has to be somewhat demoralizing for the Bulls is the fact that LaVine has gotten off to a pretty strong start to the season and they're still having some difficulty in finding a capable trade market. The hope is that will change at some point between now and the trade deadline but there's still no certainty of that. I still believe the Bulls will find a way to finally move on from LaVine at some point in 2025. They have to, right?
De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
With as much uncertainty as the Sacramento Kings have at the moment, there's a very good chance that De'Aaron Fox becomes the star player who will be a key focus heading into the offseason. He has just one year remaining on his contract after this season and there is a belief he's not going to sign an extension with the team during the offseason. If that ends up being the case, he quickly becomes a clear candidate to either be traded by the Kings or to demand a trade at some point in the near future.
Ultimately, that's why I predict that the Kings will ultimately trade Fox. I'm not sure if Fox will be the party to push for a trade or if the Kings will decide to cut their losses, but I do believe that he's going to be traded this calendar year. I do have a feeling Fox's availability is going to be one of the driving stories during the offseason. It may not be that bad of an outcome for the Kings or Fox. At this point, both sides could benefit from a change.