The Chicago Bulls’ offseason could largely hinge on one move.
There is mutual interest in bringing DeMar DeRozan back in free agency. Nikola Vucevic is locked in for two more years. The only player with major trade value to the Bulls is two-time All-Star Zach LaVine.
They have tried to offload LaVine over the last two seasons but to no avail. His injury history – he only appeared in 25 games this season – and exorbitant salary have been hindrances.
LaVine is owed nearly $140 million through 2026-27 on a five-year, $215.1 million contract.
“It might pain the Bulls’ brass to let go of LaVine and not get a draft pick in return, but if draft picks were available for the oft-injured and overpaid scorer, a deal surely would have been done by now,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley wrote on May 7. “This return isn’t much, but it does deliver three usable rotation players who are all on more reasonable contracts than LaVine.”
Buckley suggests a hypothetical trade package that would send LaVine to the Los Angeles Lakers for D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
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