Getty Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls.
Don’t let the calmness mislead you, there apparently were plenty of bubbles churning beneath the surface for the Chicago Bulls (26-28) who have been attached to several mid-to-higher-profile players in this trade deadline cycle, typically in a buyer’s role.
At the same time, however, they might also be ever so close to a complete shift in their organizational direction, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“With just over an hour left until the NBA trade deadline comes and goes, a source said the Bulls and New York Knicks were revisiting talks about two-time All-Star Zach LaVine that broke off on Wednesday night.
The issue remained the players involved, but it would entail the Bulls getting some draft capital back.”
Chicago watched as the deadline came and went while they did nothing for the second year in a row.
In a 48-hour span that has seen several blockbuster trades take place, the Bulls were, perhaps, suspiciously quiet outside of loose links to Cam Reddish and Russell Westbrook among a few others who were all dealt elsewhere. To Cowley’s point, even those talks with the Knicks seemed dead.
After New York swung the deal sending Reddish to the Portland Trail Blazers for Josh Hart, it appeared to take a potential suitor for guard Alex Caruso, a highly sought after commodity on the trade market.
But the Bulls asking price was off-putting to some teams causing them to back out, per Matt Moore of The Action Network.
LaVine – and to a lesser extent DeMar DeRozan and (even further down and for different reasons) Nikola Vucevic – was thought to be off the table until Moore shed some additional light on the situation, particularly when it came to LaVine who signed a five-year, $215 million max contract this past summer.
“The Bulls would demand star assets back in a trade for Zach LaVine, but he isn’t considered “off the table” by other teams,” reports Moore.
Just what those assets might be seem to be the hold-up in these talks.
Knicks Have Links To Zach LaVine
As Cowley notes, LaVine played for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau with the Minnesota Timberwolves for one season in Minnesota. Ironically, it was Thibodeau as Timberolwolves president who traded LaVine to the Bulls in 2017 for a package that included Jimmy Butler, now of the Miami Heat.
But, unlike with Bulls head coach Billy Donovan whose benching of the two-time All-Star lingered, LaVine is apparently not holding any grudges against Thibodeau.
“Me and Thibs are cool. Obviously playing against old coaches — I’m just going out there to win it’s not a grudge thing for me,” LaVine said in 2021, per Heavy Sports. “I think my grudge game was the first time we played a game against him with the Timberwolves. I got that out of my system and after that, I’ve been pretty good.”
The sentiments are mutual.
Tom Thibodeau always praises Zach LaVine. Did so again tonight: “Hard worker, gym rat. He’s gotten better every year. So I’m not surprised that he’s had the success that he’s had. It’s unfortunate being in the health and safety protocol for him. But he’s had a terrific season.”
LaVine, who admittedly started the season off slowly coming off of offseason knee surgery, has rounded into form averaging 25.4 points on 62.1% true shooting over the last 25 games. He could command a pretty sizeable package if actually traded.
The Knicks Have the Assets for LaVine
New York has several young players and a bevy of picks that it could offer amid the arms race in the Eastern Conference that saw the Boston Celtics (Mike Muscala) and Milwaukee Bucks (Jae Crowder) adding to their cores.
The Brooklyn Nets blew everything up but the Knicks – right behind the Toronto Raptors – could turn the trade deadline on its ear in the East if they do indeed pull off what would undoubtedly be a surprise trade for LaVine.
As for the Bulls, they will have some explaining to do when Arturas Karnisovas speaks with the media after the deadline passes one way or the other.
Even though this deal didn’t go down, it’s hard not to think they will re-visit them this summer.
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Bulls Held Trade Talks with Rival About Franchise Cornerstone Zach LaVine: Report