Chicago Bulls Rumors: Zach LaVine trade could be the major shakeup

Chicago Bulls fans, stop me if you heard this before but the Bulls are stuck in basketball purgatory.

That has been the theme for the past decade’s worth of off-seasons for the Bulls and that is once again going to be the theme for the team this summer.

After locking Zach LaVine up to a max-contract extension last summer, the Bulls are restricted with their spending capabilities this off-season which is why the biggest signing that the team will make this summer will likely be the re-signing of center Nikola Vucevic.

The re-signing of Vucevic is not a solve-all to the Bulls’ problems from last season as their biggest issue is that the team that is constructed with a core of the aforementioned LaVine and Vucevic along with an aging DeMar DeRozan is not a team that is going to be successful in the NBA Eastern Conference.

The Chicago Bulls have some interesting decisions to make going forward.

Perhaps, the Bulls understand that fact and while re-signing Vucevic may be their biggest signing of the off-season, it will not be their biggest move.

Jake Fisher of Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that the Bulls have been gauging the trade interest in LaVine ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft next week.

"Wishful executives will keep their eyes peeled on Portland and Damian Lillard, but it’s the Chicago Bulls who have started contacting teams, quietly gauging the trade interest in Zach LaVine, league sources told Yahoo Sports.It remains to be seen just how willing Chicago is to part ways with LaVine, or if it receives a commensurate offer for his services.LaVine has four seasons remaining on his five-year, $215 million contract, and multiple teams have indicated the Bulls are holding a steep valuation for LaVine — one that’s likely to exceed what Washington can ultimately net for Beal.-Jake Fisher via Yahoo Sports"

The latest rumor of the Chicago Bulls trading Zach LaVine has the team on the right track.

This is not the first time that the Bulls have dipped their toes into the waters that are known as the idea of trading LaVine.

At the NBA Trade Deadline last season, the Bulls and New York Knicks were believed to be talking about potential frameworks for a LaVine deal before the realization is made that a trade was more likely to be put together this summer.

A trade of LaVine would certainly qualify as a major shakeup to the Bulls’ plans but in true Breaking Bad style, the team should take no half-measures.

Full measures are the right measure for the Bulls this summer and that should translate to taking a wrecking ball to the core.

The Bulls’ front office nor ownership will go for that plan, however, as purgatory is quite comfortable for a basketball team that is often forgotten about in the third-largest market in the country.