NBA Rumors: All is quiet on the Zach LaVine trade front for now
Zach LaVine has been a staple of NBA trade rumors all summer. The Chicago Bulls finished last season as the No. 9 seed and there’s little reason to believe the product will meaningfully improve in 2023-24. That said, don’t expect LaVine to change teams in the immediate future.
Artūras Karnišovas and the front office will, perhaps foolishly, enter the upcoming season with hopes of contention.
From Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"“The indications several in the league were getting from the Bulls was while the ripcord wasn’t pulled this summer, it’s definitely in Karnisovas’ hand and being gripped firmly… [however] Karnisovas was thrilled with the 14-9 second-half finish to the 2023-24 campaign, as well as the fact that the Bulls were three minutes away from eliminating Jimmy Butler and the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Heat in the final play-in game.”"
That means all is quiet on the Zach LaVine trade front for now. His name has been popping up in trade rumors for two years, but the Bulls remain committed to winning with the current group. Nikola Vucevic signed a three-year, $60 million extension over the summer and there’s no indication that LaVine’s co-star, DeMar DeRozan, is at any risk of being moved.
The Bulls have also asked an exorbitant amount for LaVine in trade talks, per Crowley, which would suggest that the front office isn’t particularly motivated to trade him. LaVine still has three fully guaranteed years left on his contract, as well as a player option worth $49 million in 2026-27. It would not be shocking if teams around the league were hesitant to commit so much long-term money to LaVine, who has never mounted a serious postseason run and who has dealt with several lower-leg injuries as a player reliant on outlier athleticism.