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Bulls Send Zach LaVine to Division Rival in Projected Draft Day Trade

One trade proposal has the Chicago Bulls make a Zach LaVine trade to move up in the draft. Let's take a look at the deal together.

By Joseph Grassano

Apr 11, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) shoots on Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) shoots on Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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With the first night of the 2024 NBA draft just a day away, Chicago Bulls fans are intrigued to see what the team ends up doing with their first-round pick. After trading away Alex Caruso last Thursday, many fans are now expecting the Bulls to trade Zach LaVine, too.

If the Bulls are looking to get LaVine off their books, draft night would be the perfect time to maximize his potential return. They could use LaVine to move up from their No. 11 pick while also potentially acquiring other young players with some NBA experience.

A recent article from Bleacher Report predicts that the Bulls could make a trade in line with the parameters above with a division rival in the Detroit Pistons. Typically, teams don't trade their best players to a division rival, but in this case, the Pistons are coming off a historically bad season, and the Bulls are starting a rebuild. Therefore, the trade could be a win for both teams.

Trade

By executing this trade, the Bulls' core becomes significantly younger, with Jalen Duren at 20 and Jaden Ivey at 22. Both Duren and Ivey were first-round picks for the Pistons in 2022, giving them two seasons of NBA experience. Over those two seasons, Ivey has more starts (134) compared to Duren (91). This gap is primarily due to Ivey starting more frequently during his rookie season. However, Duren started 60 out of the 61 games he played this past season.

Duren has shown he can be a force in the paint, whether he is starting or coming off the bench. In the 2022/2023 season, Duren shot 64.8% from the field, averaged 8,9 rebounds a game (5.5 defensive and 3.4 offensive), and averaged 9.1 points in 67 games. Duren's productive rookie season got him NBA All-Rookie second-team honors.

During the 2023/2024 season, Duren shot 61.9% from the field, averaged 11.6 rebounds a game ( 8.5 defensive and 3.1 offensive), and averaged 13.8 points in 61 games played. Adding Duren to the team would give the Bulls both youth at the center and a player who could play right away.

Ivey has also made quite an impact in his short career. As a rookie, Ivey shot 41.9% from the field, 33.6% from three, averaged 3.9 rebounds a game (2,9 defensive and 1 offensive), and 16.3 points in 74 games played. Like Duren, Ivey was selected to an NBA All-Rookie second-team.

Ivey followed up his rookie year with similar production in the 2023/2024 season, shooting 42.9% from the field, 33.6% from three, and averaging 3.4 rebounds per game (2.3 defensive and 1.1 offensive) and 15.4 points in 77 games. While Ivey isn't exactly a replacement for LaVine's production, he does have good enough shooting percentages, which could still improve over time since he is young,

The Bulls should certainly have an interesting draft night no matter what they decide to do.

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