Chicago Bulls Rumors: 76ers a possible trade partner for Zach LaVine

Now that the NBA offseason is officially under way for all 30 teams, we can truly start digging into what might happen in the coming days. Will the Chicago Bulls make any major moves, or will they stay put with the current core?

There have been plenty of rumors to surface over the past couple of months. Some have stated that the Bulls could wind up dismantling their Big 3 of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic.

While a good portion of the fan base would be in favor of the idea, yet a few other reports have stated that Arturas Karnisovas and his front office plan to keep Vucevic on a multi-year extension, thus holding that Big 3 together for a little longer.

One of the latest rumors, though, has to do with the Bulls possibly moving on from LaVine. Where to? The Philadelphia 76ers have emerged in these rumors as a possible trade partner.

If the Philadelphia 76ers lose James Harden, the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine becomes a real trade possibility

Harden has been rumored to want to return to the Houston Rockets, this offseason, which would open the door for Philadelphia to pursue another max player to take his place. Philadelphia is already set up well with some of their depth at key positions, so adding a player like LaVine would keep them among the Eastern Conference elite; at least, that’s the idea.

What exactly would Philadelphia have to give up in order to land LaVine, though?

These rumors include one key name: Tyrese Maxey.

If the Bulls could get out from underneath that LaVine contract and somehow land Maxey plus picks, then Karnisovas needs to pick up the phone immediately. That’s a deal worth doing, especially because this current core of players will never be good enough to compete. The Bulls might be good, but they’ll never get over that hump and hang with the elite out East.

Maxey is only 22 years old and averaged 20.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.9 boards and shot over 43 percent from three-point distance this past season. He’s certainly one of the league’s brightest young players, and with Maxey in Chicago, the Bulls could actually look more toward retooling than rebuilding.

Adding Maxey on the last year of his rookie deal, this next season, would allow the Bulls some financial flexibility going forward to put together a contending team this season. Would they actually be able to pull off additional moves or signings to get there after a trade like this? That remains to be seen.

But, the thought of a trade like this is definitely a tantalizing one.