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The Chicago Bulls are not a very good basketball team. They really haven't been one at all since they acquired DeMar DeRozan to pair with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic save for the first half of the 2021-22 season when Lonzo Ball was healthy. But that was a long time ago, and the Bulls have been mired in mediocrity since.
The Bulls missed the playoffs last season and were swept gentleman-like by the Milwaukee Bucks the year before that. Their -3.7 net rating at the moment ranks 22nd in the NBA. Their net rating is even worse when all three of LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic are on the floor. That number drops to -17.3 according to Cleaning the Glass.
Pair that with the Bulls' 4-8 start after missing the playoffs and something has to give. Something is giving. Bulls and Zach LaVine have a shared increased openness about exploring a trade, via Shams Charania of The Athletic. Jake Fischer of Yahoo! To take it a step further, LaVine has preferred landing spots of the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Philadelphia 76ers, but also wouldn't mind landing with the San Antonio Spurs or Sacramento Kings, via Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
The Spurs are a curious addition because they are not close to playoff contention at the moment compared to those other teams. But they aren't far off after drafting Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs could use the talent upgrade. The question is: what is the right trade package for LaVine?
Why the Bulls do it
If the Bulls do elect to move on from Zach LaVine, it would be the signal of the beginning of yet another rebuild in the Windy City. But at least this trade package gives them everything they'd want in a potential LaVine deal, perhaps even too much. Jeremy Sochan is an intriguing, multi-purpose wing who can really defend and has been San Antonio's starting point guard so far this season. That hasn't led to much promising results so far, but it's early and Sochan is still only 20 years old. Malaki Branham is a silky scorer who can grow into a LaVine-like player minus LaVine's crazy athleticism.
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Two first-round picks aren't quite the three that Utah got for Donovan Mitchell, nor are they getting a player anything close to Lauri Markkanen at the moment, but that is still a very nice haul. The Spurs have plenty of draft picks to trade; they have all of their own picks, they have the Raptors' pick this year if it is outside the top six, a Hornets pick that may never convey, a future Bulls first they got in the initial DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade, another first from Boston for Derrick White, and two future Hawks firsts. That's a lot. They have plenty to spare and can spare the Bulls two of them. They'd also be giving the Bulls a ton of salary relief for LaVine's contract that still owes him over $100 million throughout the duration of. It's hard for the Bulls to ask for much else.
Why the Spurs do it
The Spurs can't have enough perimeter creators to surround Victor Wembanyama with. The gravity Wembanyama provides could give LaVine the best looks he's ever had in his career. Devin Vassell is making a leap and Keldon Johnson is a thunderous slasher, but neither can score as effortlessly as LaVine.
The Spurs need that offense too. They have the 29th-ranked offense in the NBA at the moment. The Jeremy Sochan point guard experiment hasn't gone very well; the team has been much better with Tre Jones in the game while Sochan is off the floor than vice versa. Sochan's lack of shooting could be a hinderance paired next to Wembanyama. Wembanyama could also mitigate a lot of LaVine's shortcomings defensively.
The Spurs don't have to make any rash moves any time soon. That's the beauty of being able to draft Victor Wembanyama and having a ton of extra draft picks in the treasure chest. But they could use Zach LaVine, and no one would fault them if they tried and succeeded bringing him in.
