NBA Trade Rumors: The Chicago Bulls, despite already making other moves, remain focused on trading Zach LaVine before the start of the season.
Since basically the start of last season, the Chicago Bulls have been trying to trade Zach LaVine. However, nearly a year later, the Bulls have been unable to find a strong enough trade market in order to pull the trigger on a deal. Because of that, the Bulls have held back on trading their former face of the franchise. But with the recent moves that the Bulls have made this summer, they almost have to trade LaVine at some point soon.
And despite what the Bulls would publicly say, it's still very much in the best interest of the franchise to move on from LaVine.
According to a recent report, the Bulls would still like to trade LaVine "ASAP" due to the fact that keeping him on the roster could lead to a potential "dysfunctional lock room." LaVine's relationship with Bulls head coach Billy Donovan is reportedly not in a good place and is one of the bigger reasons why both sides seem to be open to the idea of a trade.
Zach LaVine's absent trade market
LaVine's lack of trade market has to be considered one of the bigger riddles in the NBA today. Despite the trade rumor whispers he had to play through, LaVine averaged 20 points five rebounds, and four assists on 45 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from 3-point range this past season. He was even better the year before.
At this point, it's probably in the best interest of both sides to find a path toward moving on. However, as has been the case since it was originally reported that the Bulls were trying to trade LaVine, it's curiously become a difficult process.
I suppose because of the three years, $138 million remaining on his deal, there haven't been the natural trade suitors that you would expect. The hope was that could potentially change once the offseason arrived. However, that hasn't been the case this summer. Even though there's still plenty of time before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, there remains real doubt about the Bulls' chances of trading LaVine.
Chicago is clearly headed down a rebuild. It makes sense for the next natural move to be a LaVine trade. With the way his trade market is, there's no real guarantee that will happen anytime soon.