Chicago Bulls Rumors: Zach LaVine trade may be nearing

The Chicago Bulls appear to be headed toward a reconstruction of their core as the team is 4-7 through the first 11 games of the 2023-2024 NBA regular season and it would seem that the team will be the biggest seller at the NBA Trade Deadline in February.

As part of the reconstruction, All-Star guard Zach LaVine may have a new home before the season is over.

Shams Charania reported for The Athletic (Subscription required) that teams are already expressing their interest in trading for LaVine and that the Bulls and LaVine are exploring trade possibilities.

LaVine has been mentioned in trade rumors since the moment that he signed his maximum contract extension with the team last year. LaVine was mentioned in trade rumors at the NBA Trade Deadline last season and those rumors returned the week of the 2023 NBA Draft in the summer.

At the time, the rumors were more speculative and not as direct as the report from Charania on Tuesday. Charania’s report provides a clear indication that both the Bulls and LaVine are ready for a clean break.

The best move that the Chicago Bulls can make this season would be a trade of Zach LaVine as they reconstruct their roster.

It would be interesting to see if there is an NBA team that pulls the trigger on a LaVine soon as opposed to waiting until the deadline. Typically, a trade of a star player such as LaVinen does not occur early in the season but for the Bulls, there should be an incentive to do so.

The sooner that the Bulls start the reconstruction of their roster, the better. The Bulls had the flawed approach of trying to bring back a core that failed throughout the past two seasons and their slow start this season should be no surprise.

A trade of LaVine should not be the only move that the Bulls make this season. Veterans DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso likely will draw interest from contenders but that could be something that materializes closer to the NBA Trade Deadline.