DONE DEAL: Zach LaVine is traded by the Bulls to the Kings

DONE DEAL: Zach LaVine is traded by the Bulls to the Kings

A rebuilding of the Chicago Bulls has been demanded by many. It seems that their front desk is starting to give their requests some thought. The Bulls made their first big trade of the summer, sending Josh Giddey to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Alex Caruso, to begin the 2024 NBA offseason.

They also don’t seem to be finished closing deals. The Sacramento Kings have been named as a potential trade partner in the months-long trade talks involving the Bulls and Zach LaVine.

Before the trade deadline, Chicago came close to dealing LaVine to the Detroit Pistons. LaVine’s foot ailment ended the discussions, but it was close to happening.

It seems Chicago is now prepared to start again after missing the playoffs the previous two seasons. The next concern is what the Bulls and Kings’ trade offer for a LaVine would entail.

Kings acquire Zach LaVine from Bulls

Bulls acquire: Harrison Barnes, Sasha Vezenkov, Kevin Hurter, No. 13 overall pick, and second-round selections in 2025 and 2026

Zach LaVine, No. 11 overall pick, is given to the Kings.
The rationale behind the Bulls’ actions

The Bulls seem willing to sell LaVine and start again, so they approve of this transaction. According to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, they have reportedly made 15 distinct trade proposals, including one for LaVine, to teams around the league. A team that isn’t serious about moving on from a player doesn’t publish a report like that.

When it comes to moving LaVine, the Bulls ought to mean business. Even though LaVine is an extremely skilled scorer, he is not the ideal player. Throughout his career, his defense has never been reliable, and his playmaking is only mediocre. In addition, he has a long history of injuries, a fat contract, and is 29 years old.

LaVine’s contract is for three more years, with a player option for the following year. In that time, he stands to make over $138 million. A team that has that contract on its books finds it difficult to rebuild.

At this stage in the contract, the Bulls don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze because they haven’t been particularly competitive during LaVine’s time there either. In part because of LaVine’s injury history, they haven’t. Only four times in the past seven years has he participated in at least 60 games for Chicago in a season.

The Bulls and LaVine haven’t been good enough to win together. It’s best for them to part ways at this point. Chicago could obtain acceptable assets for Barnes or Huerter if they so desired, even though they aren’t receiving a premium return on this transaction. Since Huerter is only 25, he might develop alongside Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White.

If nothing else, the Bulls would have more options than they do now.

The reason behind the Kings’ actions

Sacramento would be making a pure talent move with this. Malik Monk is a long-term player for the team, so LaVine’s skill set would be a touch redundant, but Monk’s absence near the end of the previous season destroyed Sacramento’s hopes of making the playoffs. It makes some sense to acquire a different player who plays similarly to Monk and might be regarded as an improvement over him.

They’re not making a lot of sacrifices to obtain him. Two-way guard Keon Ellis filled in for Huerter after the former Hawk dislocated his shoulder, though it would be painful to lose Huerter. During the previous season, the Kings had several games that neither Huerter nor Barnes ended. Ellis and Trey Lyles are available for Sacramento to take their places.

In addition, Chicago moves up two positions in this year’s draft to convince the Kings to make this trade and accept LaVine’s large contract. That is not insignificant. LaVine has long captivated the Kings, who have communicated with him and the Bulls in trade talks. This agreement may eventually bring about such collaboration.