Chicago Bulls: Why the team shouldn’t trade Zach LaVine

Reason #2: The Bulls can wait & trade LaVine in his contract year

It may seem tempting for the Bulls to dangle LaVine in a trade right now since his scoring is at an all-time high. But the Bulls have some leverage here as LaVine is still under contract through the 2021-22 NBA season. If they don’t get a dream offer this season, why not wait?

There are more reasons than just the contract to wait on trading LaVine. Whether it’s former players, analysts, or fans, those who watch the Bulls know the glaring issues of LaVine’s weak defense.

The opinion was mixed when the Sacramento Kings signed LaVine, then a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet of $80 million over four years in 2018. Some Bulls fans suggested the team shouldn’t match the contract because of LaVine’s shoddy defense and injury history.

The Bulls matched the offer sheet, and the rest is history. It was the right move, even if it took the guard a bit of time to live up to the hype that surrounded him when he came to Chicago as a 22-year-old. I’ll be the first to admit he’s looked better on defense this season.

LaVine was the biggest name player coming to Chicago when the Bulls traded star forward Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft day in 2017. The Bulls also acquired the 7th overall pick which they used to draft Markkanen.

There was a lot of uncertainty then, but things ended up working out for the Bulls compared to the disastrous Butler situation in Minnesota. There is uncertainty now regarding this roster, but the Bulls could still make a great trade involving LaVine next year when his contract is almost up.