Bulls News: Chicago Star ‘Motivated’ To Leave Organization This Summer.
Former All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine, the Chicago Bulls’ most expensive player, appears to be on the verge of divorce.
According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, both the Bulls and Zach LaVine’s reps want to move on from one other. The organization’s front management had originally expected to obtain first-round pick equity and/or an All-Star-caliber player in exchange for LaVine, who has not made an All-Star squad in two seasons due to health and defensive difficulties.
Johnson now feels that team president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley are willing to accept significantly less lucrative trade offers. This is major news because the Bulls haven’t traded an active player since 2021.
Johnson admits that the LaVine-Bulls relationship appears to have run its course, but he praises both LaVine and the Chicago organization for managing their mutual disinterest in one another properly – as if teams earn points for being professional while making trades.
LaVine’s rapport with his Chicago teammates deteriorated to the point where, when he was sidelined with an ankle injury early in the 2023-24 NBA season, the squad immediately went on a run without him, regaining respectability as young point guard Coby White became fully empowered within the Bulls’ offense.
LaVine is now the third-most important Chicago player on that side of the ball, after only White and All-Star veteran swingman who is still eligible for an extension until July 1, when he will enter unrestricted free agency.
The UCLA product has traditionally been a defensive sieve, and at the age of 28, he has already missed significant time due to ankle and knee operations. He’s a troubled asset. However, when fit, he is a terrific three-level scorer who remains surprisingly athletic despite his injury history. During his greatest season with the team, 2021-22 (Chicago went 46-36 and finished as the East’s No. 6 seed), he averaged 24.4 points on a.476/.389/.853 slash line (the 38.9 percent three-point rate came on 7.1 attempts), 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 0.6 steals per game.
LaVine’s hefty contract is the second stumbling block that could prevent a deal. The 6-foot-5 swingman recently completed the second season of a five-year, $215.2 million contract. He’ll make $43 million in 2024-25, a massive number for a player who was perhaps the fourth-best player on his own team last season, after only White, DeRozan, and All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso. Finding a trade partner ready to take some risk has been difficult for Chicago thus far. Teams in need of perimeter scoring punch, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic, as well as lottery clubs like the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs, could be good fits for LaVine.