Getty Could Kyle Lowry be an option for the Bulls?
If the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat don’t decide to swap a few players by the time the NBA trade deadline hits, some league insiders have suggested that the two teams could swap superstars this summer.
Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald reported on February 6 that Miami is now listening to offers for starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who was thought to be off the trade block at one point.
“The Heat initially had no interest in dealing Lowry,” Jackson and Chiang wrote. “But the team’s position has softened recently, and Miami is now open to trades involving Lowry if the team is offered a deal it views as advantageous, according to a source in contact with the team.”
The Bulls player mentioned as a possible trade chip in the deal? Zach LaVine.
Kyle Lowry Has Been Having a Down Season With Heat
Lowry, who turns 37 in March, has started 44 games for the Heat this season. He’s averaging 12.0 points while also dishing out 5.3 assists and grabbing 4.3 boards in 33.3 minutes per game (stats via Basketball Reference). It’s his lowest scoring output since the 2010 season.
“Lowry’s contract also would be helpful to facilitate a deal for a highly-paid All Star or former All Star such as Washington’s Bradley Beal (due $46.8 million next season), Toronto’s Pascal Siakim ($37.8 million) and Chicago’s Zach LaVine ($40 million). There’s no indication that those three players are available, but all have been mentioned generally in trade speculation in the past year or two.”
Miami took on the three-year, $85 million contract Lowry signed while he was with the Toronto Raptors. He is due $28.3 million this season and $29.7 million next year. The Bulls won’t be able to afford anywhere near that amount unless they unload a contract like LaVine’s (he’s the highest-paid player on their roster this year at $37.1 million).
Thus, a Lowry-for-LaVine trade seems highly unlikely. Plus, multiple reports suggest the Bulls don’t want to move their superstar.
Latest Update on Zach LaVine Says He’s Staying Put
ESPN’s Jamal Collier reported on February 6 that the Bulls “find themselves at a crossroads but do not intend to trade core players this week.”
That strongly suggests neither LaVine nor DeMar DeRozan will be traded, and another NBA insider says it will take a ton for Chicago to move on from LaVine.
“I don’t think the Bulls are trading LaVine, and if they do, I’ll have egg on my face,” ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said on the February 6 episode of the Hoop Collective podcast. “I mean, there’s some package they will trade him for. I don’t think the Bulls will surrender.”
For his part, LaVine says he is tuning out all those trade rumors. “Team’s not playing well, so you’re always going to hear those stories,” LaVine said, per Collier.
The Bulls are 26-27 in the East and currently hold the ninth spot in the conference. They have won three in a row, though, and seem to have every intention of trying to compete for a spot in the postseason. Anything is possible, of course, but don’t expect the Bulls to move LaVine, at least not right now.