The Chicago Bulls are trying to make things work on the court, integrating two-time All-Star Zach LaVine back into the fold after the team hit its stride without him.
They are 3-1 since he’s returned, but they are also still looking to trade LaVine.
Their lack of success doing so stems from a combination of their asking price, his $40 million salary in this, the second year of a five-year, $215 million contract, and a significant history of knee issues. But one analyst believes the Golden State Warriors could be desperate enough to swing a trade for LaVine in a “bold prediction”.
“It’ll take a desperate team to stomach the remainder of Zach LaVine’s contract,” wrote Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report on January 13. “Is any team more desperate than the Golden State Warriors right now?”
The Warriors just beat LaVine’s Bulls in Chicago, winning 140-131 on January 12. But that was just their third win in their last nine tries dating back to Christmas.
“We have a standard it’s pretty evident,” Warriors star Stephen Curry told reporters after the Warriors’ loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on January 10. “If things stay the same, that’s a definition of insanity, right? Keep doing the same thing, expecting a different result?”
He went on to say that players can’t focus on trade rumors. But the front office certainly is.
The Warriors have been without Draymond Green for the last 15 games on his second suspension of the season. And Chris Paul is sidelined for another three weeks at least following surgery on his fractured hand.
Their return could right a lot of the Warriors’ wrongs. But maybe the Bulls can strike first.
Proposed Trade Swaps Bulls’ Zach LaVine, Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins
Working under the presumption that they would prefer to keep the star trio of Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson together, there could still be a deal to be made with the Bulls.
With three of the Warriors’ top five contracts off the board in this hypothetical scenario, Andrew Wiggins would form the basis of a trade package that would send LaVine to Golden State in exchange for his former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate.
Bulls get:
– Andrew Wiggins
– Chris Paul
Warriors get:
– Zach LaVine
– Lonzo Ball
“The Warriors definitely need a No. 2 scorer,” Andscape’s Marc Spears said on “NBA Today” on January 12. “To do that though, it’s gonna hit you.
“I was told by a GM that there’s not a lot of value for Wiggins right now. Although you could package him and [Jonathan] Kuminga together. You could package Kuminga and CP to make it happen. But the Warriors desperately need to make a trade.”
Spears was arguing in favor of the Warriors trading for Pascal Siakam.
The Bulls could argue that the remaining three years of LaVine’s contract offer stability that Siakam’s looming free agency this coming offseason and desire for a max contract don’t.
Zach LaVine’s Case for Best Trade Target
That could make him a better trade target than the admittedly more accomplished Siakam, who is also the superior defender. LaVine is the far better shooter, which could appeal to the space-you-out Warriors, though there could be some positional redundancy with Thompson.
Adding Ball and Paul is more about matching money than adding value.
A deal featuring just LaVine and Wiggins – and maybe some lightly protected picks one way or the other – would satisfy league rules, per Spotrac’s Roster Manager tool.
The other top trade target in this rumor cycle has been Atlanta Hawks’ guard Dejounte Murray. He is under contract for the next four seasons, and at a substantially lower cost than LaVine is now or Siakam likely will be on his next contract.
Murray’s best fit might be running the show as a lead guard somewhere, though.
His tenure alongside Trae Young has already run its course, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojanrowski on January 12 whereas LaVine is a formidable off-ball option. The NBA trade deadline is February 8.
