Over the past few years, the Chicago Bulls have been constantly mentioned in NBA trade rumors, with the talk being that the team is willing to deal notable players like Zach LaVine, who is a star but not someone they want to build around moving forward.
Despite best efforts to trade LaVine elsewhere, Chicago’s front office hasn’t found a deal attractive enough to pull the trigger, which makes his future in the Windy City uncertain as it seems they want to get his contract off the books.
After this season, LaVine has one year remaining at almost $46 million and then a player option for the 2026-27 campaign at almost $49 million, which he’d be crazy to turn down as he won’t make that kind of money anywhere else if he decides to opt-out and test free agency.
The Bulls are struggling again this season and it appears they’ll try to be sellers ahead of the NBA trade deadline, with LaVine and Nikola Vucevic the players they are looking to move, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, via NBACentral.
The Chicago Bulls are looking to trade Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, per @JCowleyHoops pic.twitter.com/7zJ46585li
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 25, 2024
Although the Bulls haven’t been able to put it together on the floor, Vucevic and LaVine are having solid seasons, which may help their trade value moving forward.
LaVine is averaging 22.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 44.0 percent from behind the arc.
Chicago might be able to find a new home for LaVine if it can convince a team to take on his contract for potentially the next two years, while Vucevic will undoubtedly generate some interest, as he’s averaging 20.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, shooting 58.0 percent from the floor and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.
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