The Toronto Raptors were in the trade market for Damian Lillard when he requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers this summer, but they weren't able to bring him in. Perhaps they have another chance to land a different dynamic, bucket-getting All-Star guard just a few weeks into the 2023-24 season.
Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls apparently share “increased openness” on finding a trade for the 28-year-old, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
This news should not come as much of a surprise to anyone outside the Bulls, who doubled down on their Big Three of LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic despite the fact the team had had a negative net rating when all three shared the floor in the 2021-22 and just a +0.7 net rating last season, per Cleaning the Glass. That is once again the case this season, as the Chicago's net rating with LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic on the court is an ugly -17.3 points per 100 possessions.
LaVine is entering the second season of a five-year $215 million deal the Bulls don't seem inclined to pay if they are going to be as mediocre as they've been in the season's early going. It would make sense for them to completely start over and rebuild again. The Raptors could really use some dynamism from their guards. What is a trade package for LaVine that could work from both sides?
Raptors' best Zach LaVine trade offer to Bulls
Toronto gets: Zach LaVine
Chicago gets: Precious Achiuwa, Gary Trent Jr., Thaddeus Young, Chris Boucher, two unprotected first-round picks, two second-round picks, first-round pick swap
Why the Bulls do it
The Bulls do this deal to start over. They clearly aren't going anywhere any time soon, so they might as well recoup as many first-round picks as they can and start over. The Raptors are well positioned to provide them that off-ramp to the future. They owe their 2024 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs if it falls outside the top-six, but has no other outgoing draft picks going forward. Chris Boucher and Gary Trent Jr. are on expiring contracts and are good players, so Chicago could possibly flip them and land some extra draft capital out of them as well.
Toronto would make for a great trade partner as well because it has a bunch of expiring contracts. Every player the Bulls would get in this package for LaVine is on an expiring contract, and Achiuwa would be a restricted free agent, making it easy for him to be retained. If Chicago want to get some draft picks and out from under the remaining $137,998,980 million they owe LaVine, this would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone.
Why the Raptors do it
Not only do the Raptors badly need shooting, but they also need an infusion of different offensive skillsets. Every one of their primary offensive creators (Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Dennis Schroder) likes to prod and slash their way to the rim. They also don't exactly have complementary skillsets, which makes it more difficult to run set when teams can switch most actions with these guys and pack the paint to force Toronto to make shots.
Making shots is not the Toronto's specialty. It's small sample size theater, but the Raptors currently rank 25th in the NBA in three-point percentage at 33.3%. These numbers can be trusted a little more than most considering the fact the Bulls ranked 28th in the league in three-point percentage at 33.5% last season across 82 games.
LaVine is a career 38.2% three-point shooter and can score with the best of them from all three levels of the floor. Among players with at least 20 games played and a usage rate of at least 27% last season, LaVine ranked 12th out of 36 players in effective field goal percentage and 13th out of 36 players in true shooting percentage. He'd be an instant talent and fit upgrade for the Raptors both short and long-term.
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