Many have been asking for the Chicago Bulls to undergo a rebuild. Apparently, their front office is beginning to listen to those requests. The Bulls kicked off the 2024 NBA offseason with the first major trade of the summer by sending Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey.
They don’t appear to be done making deals either. The Bulls and Zach LaVine have been the subject of trade talks for months, with the Sacramento Kings mentioned as a possible suitor.
Chicago nearly dealt LaVine to the Detroit Pistons before the trade deadline. Those talks fizzled out after an injury to LaVine’s foot, but it almost happened.
After Chicago missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season, it appears they’re finally ready to hit the reset button. The question then becomes, what would a trade offer between the Bulls and Kings for a LaVine look like?
Bulls trade Zach LaVine to Kings
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) shoots in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.
Bulls receive: Kevin Hurter, Harrison Barnes, Sasha Vezenkov, No. 13 overall pick, 2025, 2026 second-round picks
Kings receive: Zach LaVine, No. 11 overall pick
Why the Bulls do it
The Bulls accept this trade because they seem eager to move LaVine and enter a rebuild. They’ve reportedly submitted 15 different trade proposals including LaVine around the league according to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. A report like that doesn’t come out if a team isn’t serious about moving on from a player.
The Bulls should be that serious about trading LaVine. For as talented a scorer that LaVine is, he is far from the perfect player. His defense has never been steady at any point in his career and his playmaking is merely fine. He’s also 29 years old with a bloated contract and lengthy injury history.
LaVine has three more years on his deal with a player option for the final season. He is poised to earn roughly $138 million in that span. It’s hard for a team to rebuild with that contract on their books.
The Bulls haven’t been very competitive during LaVine’s tenure there either, so the juice isn’t worth the squeeze for them at this point with that contract. They haven’t partly because of LaVine’s list of injuries. He’s played at least 60 games in a season for Chicago just four times in seven years.
Neither LaVine nor the Bulls have been good enough to win together. Now is a good time for them to go their separate ways. Though Chicago isn’t getting a premium return in this deal, they could fetch legitimate assets for either Barnes or Huerter if they chose to. Huerter could grow with Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Giddey since he’s only 25.
The Bulls would at least have options, more than they have currently.
Why the Kings do it
This would be a pure talent move for Sacramento. LaVine’s skillset would be a little redundant with Malik Monk locked in long term with the club, but Monk’s absence towards the end of last season torpedoed Sacramento’s playoff chances. Getting another player who plays like Monk and could be considered an upgrade over him does make some sense.
They aren’t giving up a whole lot to get him. While losing Huerter would hurt, two-way guard Keon Ellis stepped up in Huerter’s place after the former Hawk dislocated his shoulder. There were a number of games where neither Huerter nor Barnes closed games for the Kings last season. Sacramento can replace those two with Ellis and Trey Lyles.
To entice the Kings to make this deal and take on LaVine’s big contract, Chicago also moves them up two spots in this year’s draft. That’s not nothing. The Kings have long been enamored with LaVine and connected with him and the Bulls in trade talks. This deal could finally have that partnership materialized.
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