Zach LaVine will not be traded
Over the past 18 months, the argument can be made that there hasn't been a player in the NBA that a team has tried or attempted to move on from more than Zach LaVine. Since the start of last season, and perhaps even before, there were whispers that the Chicago Bulls were interested in closing the book on the LaVine era and pivoting into the future. However, because of a disappointing trade market, the Bulls have yet to move on from LaVine. Heading into this year's NBA Trade Deadline, the hope was that the Bulls would find a soft landing spot for LaVine.
At least thus far, that hasn't been the case. Sure, there's certainly been more interest from teams on the LaVine front but I'd be lying if I said I was confident that the Bulls would be able to trade LaVine before the deadline. Could it happen? A few days out from the trade deadline, I absolutely believe there's a chance a deal can come to fruition. However, at this point, I'm not expecting anything to happen on that front - especially when you mention some of the other bigger names that are currently on the block.
When you take that into consideration, it's easy to see why there could be some hesitance for the Bulls on the LaVine front. While I do believe he's a name that's going to continue to be discussed, I predict that by the time the NBA Trade Deadline comes and goes, he will still be on Chicago's roster. The Bulls will make a last-minute attempt to trade LaVine but I don't believe the right deal is going to come to fruition and Chicago is going to elect to take this saga into the offseason rather than making a deal just for the sake of it.
In the end, I'm not sure this will come as a huge surprise for the Bulls or that it will be all that deflating. However, it is at least a bit unfortunate that this dark cloud over the team is going to have to continue into the offseason. Chicago will probably eventually trade LaVine; I just don't believe this year's NBA Trade Deadline is when it will all come together for the team. And that may not necessarily be that bad of an outcome for the team.