The Chicago Bulls are in a tricky spot. Their current Big Three of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic is solid, but it doesn’t seem to be a championship-caliber group. If Chicago’s goal is to be competitive and fight for the playoffs, their roster is fine, but the Bulls likely have bigger aspirations than that.
For now, though, Arturas Karnisovas has publicly stated that he’s not interested in a rebuild. However, according to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, there has been some speculation among NBA executives around the league that LaVine may not have a long-term future with the Bulls.
In a recent mailbag, Johnson wrote about LaVine’s potential future in Chicago. And while he noted that the rumors of a New York Knicks trade were blown out of proportion, he did admit that there’s some skepticism surrounding his time in Chicago.
“But several rival executives who NBC Sports Chicago talked to at the combine are skeptical about the long-term marriage between Zach LaVine and the Bulls,” Johnson wrote. “LaVine, who has been loyal to the Bulls, has grown tired of consistently landing in trade rumors, although talk of the New York Knicks’ interest at the trade deadline was overstated.”
And while Chicago has consistently supported LaVine, the talk surrounding his future with the Bulls looms large.
“LaVine also represents the Bulls’ most dynamic scorer in terms of his ability to heat up either beyond the arc or attacking the rim,” Johnson wrote. “Again, the Bulls publicly have backed LaVine at every opportunity so believe that for now over rival executives’ speculation. But that speculation is prevalent enough to acknowledge.”
Chicago just handed LaVine a massive extension last summer, and they seem intent on keeping him around for now. But how long will that last?