After two seasons with their current core, the Chicago Bulls could look to make changes this summer. The Big Three of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic has only been together briefly, but it seems to have already run its course. It simply isn’t a championship-caliber team.
In turn, shaking up the roster could be in Chicago’s best interest. Everything should be on the table for the Bulls, including trading their star players. If LaVine ends up getting thrown on the trade block, Jared Koch of Inside the Jazz, Sports Illustrated’s Utah Jazz page, wrote that Utah could potentially look to strike a deal.
LaVine already has a connection to the Jazz in the form of Lauri Markkanen, as the two stars played together in Chicago for four years from 2017 to 2021. Koch believes LaVine’s offense would fit perfectly with the Jazz under coach Will Hardy, listing him as a “wise” trade target for Utah, as it could help keep Markkanen happy.
“If this is the route they decide to go, the Utah Jazz have to be a team that finds at least some intrigue in the former UCLA guard,” Koch wrote. “We’ve seen LaVine average over 23 points per game each of the past 5 seasons, consistently shooting above 45/37/80 splits. An efficient scoring two-guard like Zach could be a steal for the Jazz at the right price.
“Current Jazz All-Star, Lauri Markkanen played with the Bulls’ guard back in his Chicago days from 2017 to 2021. If Danny Ainge plans on keeping Lauri in Salt Lake City long-term, surrounding him with some familiarity could be a wise decision. A duo of an improved LaVine and Markkanen could prove to be dangerous in a new Will Hardy-led system.”
Utah has plenty of draft capital to offer the Bulls in a trade if the two sides decide to negotiate a trade. And if Chicago decides to rebuild, Utah would be a great trade partner for the Bulls to talk to because of that reason.
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