There is a new regime in The Windy City, meaning new Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley could look to shake up the roster this offseason.
Does that mean Zach LaVine could potentially be on the move?
While LaVine has not asked for a trade and Chicago has not shown any indication it wants to move him (at least not publicly), some are questioning whether or not the Bulls should look to deal LaVine.
Apparently, the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are already preparing in the event LaVine becomes available, which does not come as a surprise given the Nets are in need of a third star and the Knicks, well … the Knicks are in need of a lot of things.
But trading LaVine is not something Chicago should actively be exploring.
Believe it or not, the Bulls have a pretty nice young nucleus in LaVine, Wendell Carter Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Coby White. Yes, Markkanen had a rough season and Carter was plagued by injuries once again, but no one can deny the talent of this young group.
So, unless Chicago receives an overwhelming offer, the club would probably be best served holding on to LaVine. You would think that finding a new coach would be the first order of business, especially since Jim Boylen has had issues with LaVine and some of his Bulls teammates.
Look, LaVine isn't perfect. He has a checkered injury history, he isn't particularly adept at running an offense and his defense leaves a whole lot to be desired.
However, LaVine is also just 25 years old, and smooth scorers like him don't grow on trees. Early on in his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, there was some concern that LaVine could develop into a rather inefficient chucker, but he has bucked that notion in the Windy City.
In 2019-20, LaVine averaged 25.5 points per game with a very respectable true shooting percentage of 56.8 percent. Last season, he registered 23.7 points per game with a true shooting percentage of 57.4 percent.
That isn't elite efficiency, but it's still pretty darn good, especially considering LaVine has averaged in the neighborhood of 25 points per game over each of the last two seasons.
The UCLA product is athletic, a good perimeter shooter (lifetime 37.5 percent shooter from 3-point range) and gets to the free-throw line pretty regularly. In terms of being a pure scorer, LaVine is ascending the ranks. There is no question about that.
Now, is LaVine a No. 1 guy on a title contender? Probably not, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Bulls should aim to jettison him. It just means he needs some help.
Plus, it's not like LaVine has a bad contract, as he is scheduled to make a very manageable $39 million over the next two campaigns.
Again, LaVine shouldn't be untouchable, and Chicago should at least listen to trade offers. If something incredible comes along, then by all means, pull the trigger.
But the idea of the Bulls actively shopping LaVine doesn't sit all that well, because he has shown vast improvement over the past couple of seasons and clearly is not the main problem in Chicago.
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