Report: Bulls expected to continue ‘actively’ shopping Zach LaVine

Report: Bulls expected to continue ‘actively’ shopping Zach LaVine

Last November, it was reported that Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine was open to exploring a trade away from the organization two years after signing a five-year supermax.

Given the size and duration of his current contract (among other factors), there wasn’t a market for LaVine. He also dealt with a foot injury that limited him to just 25 games last season, shutting down any possibility of getting traded until at least the 2024 offseason.

While he wasn’t moved, Joe Crowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Bulls are “actively trying” to explore trade possibilities for LaVine, as the team is entering a new phase without DeMar DeRozan.

He has three years and $138 million left on his contract with $43.0 million, $46.0 million and $50.0 million cap hits over the next three seasons, respectively per Spotrac; the last year of his deal is a player option, and he has a 15 percent trade kicker tacked onto his deal.

Despite the ongoing buzz, the 29-year-old guard remains committed to the organization.

“I had a conversation when I first committed to the Bulls and signed my deal here with [COO Michael Reinsdorf], with [chairman Jerry Reinsdorf], [executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas], the front office, the commitment they gave me, the respect they gave me,” LaVine said during his Media Day session, according to Crowley. “I’m going to continue to give them that same respect, but not just with the way I play but with my professionalism. That won’t waver. That’s something I stand on. So anything going forward, I think that’s how I’m going to answer it.

“Whenever there’s something that needs to be said, it will come from Zach LaVine or my representation. There were a lot of thoughts and rumors and opinions about me, about the organization. So just know that whenever it needs to come from me or them, you’ll know it will be from them. Everything else you can take with a grain of salt, with false narratives or whatever it may be.”

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LaVine will be entering his 11th NBA season. Over his truncated 25-game campaign last year, he averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 45.2 percent shooting and 34.9 percent from 3-point range. Though over his previous five seasons with the Bulls, he’s posted 25.1 points on 47.7/38.8/83.8 shooting splits, making two All-Star teams while playing 83 percent of his team’s games.

There still may not be much of a market for LaVine, but if he’s able to play a full season at an All-Star caliber level, there could be teams calling for him either at the deadline or next offseason. The second apron complicates matters; depending on the context, most teams may not want to deal with the risk-reward of trading for LaVine if it puts them close–or over–the aforementioned apron.

With the first official year of the real second apron penalties, I’ll be even more intrigued to see how teams go about building a roster once the trade deadline approaches. The Bulls still have LaVine and Nikola Vucevic–among others–on the books. They may be looking to sell off multiple pieces, but it remains to be seen if they will not only get market value, but even find available suitors for said players, including LaVine.

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