What does a dream offseason look like for the Chicago Bulls?

Perhaps a mutual breakup between star guard Zach LaVine and the Bulls?

What does a dream offseason look like for the Chicago Bulls? According to Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, it’s a mutual breakup between star guard Zach LaVine and the Bulls — and for a hefty return on Chicago’s side, at that.

Zach LaVine was in a lot of trade chatter leading up to the deadline, although foot surgery ultimately ended his season and any chance of being moved,” writes Swartz of the aborted attempt to make that breakup happen ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. “Now, the 29-year-old is reportedly ahead of schedule in his recovery and will be fully healthy well before training camp, meaning the Bulls could seek a trade partner again this summer.”

“Chicago isn’t going to get a massive haul, especially with LaVine playing just 25 games this season and with three years and $138 million remaining on his contract,” he adds.

“The best the Bulls can hope for is a pair of first-round picks from some contender, and some salary relief as well.”

If the Bulls can anything better than the Washington Wizards did for Bradley Beal, they ought to take it — and before anyone changes their mind.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Reacting to wild trade proposal would see Bulls land Ben Simmons

This potential trade would see Ben Simmons join the Chicago Bulls.

As the Chicago Bulls inevitably look to trade Zach LaVine this summer, they will have to consider a bunch of different options. Reports indicated that the Bulls were looking to move LaVine during the season, but as soon as he underwent season-ending foot surgery, those talks were put to bed. Now, the focus will be on this summer.

Though his massive contract and lack of quality defensive abilities will hurt his value, there are a bunch of teams around the league who could use LaVine’s shot creation and scoring. One potential destination could be the Brooklyn Nets, who could use some more offense in their lineup.

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report suggested a deal that would see Ben Simmons head to Chicago, and the Bulls Digest YouTube channel broke it down.

Simmons has been completely unable to stay on the court, but perhaps the Bulls could get back some draft capital in a deal involving him and LaVine.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Chicago Bulls reportedly still looking to trade Zach LaVine this summer

LaVine may well yet end up on another roster by the end of the 2024 NBA offseason.

When it became clear that star Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine would not be suiting up again this season, the trade market for the UCLA alum dried up in a hurry. But now, with rumbles that Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball might be back on the court by next season, is the team’s notoriously conservative front office done trying to trade LaVine?

According to some analysts in the know, LaVine may well yet end up on another roster by the end of the 2024 NBA offseason. If true, what does this mean about the direction the team is trying to take?

Speaking on a recent episode, the hosts of the “Locked On Bulls” podcast, Haize and Pat the Designer, weighed in on rumbles about moving on from LaVine.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear what the duo thinks the team’s front office will do about the LaVine situation this summer.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Will the Chicago Bulls look to trade Zach LaVine in the NBA’s 2024 offseason?

It might be wise to re-allocate some of LaVine’s considerable cap hit to multiple young players better suited for a retooling roster.

Will the Chicago Bulls look to trade star guard Zach LaVine in the NBA’s 2024 offseason? Or will they see how the emergence of players like Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White mesh together with the UCLA alum playing alongside them in larger roles than in the past?

On one hand, it seems as if the market for LaVine’s services was rather limited ahead of the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline, but it is also a lot harder to trade for a player on a large salary in the middle of a season. On the other, it might be wise to re-allocate some of LaVine’s considerable cap hit to multiple young players better suited for a retooling roster.

Veteran Bulls beat writer KC Johnson weighed in on what he thinks the Bulls are going to do on a recent episode of NBC Sports Chicago’s “Bulls Talk” podcast.

Take a look at the clip above to get his take on LaVine and Chicago’s future together.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Bulls star Zach LaVine provides update on foot surgery

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine recently spoke about his foot surgery.

The Chicago Bulls will almost certainly end the season in the Play-In Tournament. They’ll have a shot at making the playoffs, but they undoubtedly had higher hopes than that result coming into the season. And while a lot of their struggles had to do with their middling on-court play, they also ran into some tough injury luck.

In addition to sporadic injuries that caused players to miss time, Zach LaVine dealt with some long-term issues throughout the course of the season. He ultimately had to have surgery on his foot at the beginning of February, causing him to miss the remainder of the season.

In a video posted by Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, LaVine recently discussed his decision to have surgery and how he’s been doing since then. (H/t Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation)

“It sucked, man. I was trying to figure out every way not to – you never want to have surgery. But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, ‘your pain level, and this thing isn’t going to heal on its own,’” LaVine said. “It was a bone that was floating around. It’s known as a non-union jones fracture, which I was dealing with for a while. I was happy to find him, and he told me, ‘You need to get it done sooner than later.’”

Getting healthy is, and always should be, LaVine’s top priority, especially when it comes to the long-term outlook of his career.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Zach LaVine listed as top 5 player ‘not living up’ to huge contract

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine hasn’t been living up to his huge contract.

The Chicago Bulls have been in a weird spot for the past few seasons, and they’ve made some relatively questionable decisions. In addition to the fact that they haven’t made a trade at the deadline in three years, the Bulls have also signed players to some iffy contracts.

Nikola Vucevic deserves the money he was paid, but should the Bulls have been the ones to sign him to the deal? That’s a better question. But the better question is whether or not the Bulls should have inked Zach LaVine to a max contract. A couple of seasons in and the answer to the question looks like a no.

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report listed LaVine in the top five NBA players not living up to their big contracts.

“He has never had a discernible impact on his team’s success,” Buckley wrote. “Not in a positive way, at least. While others have contributed to this, the fact remains he has booked a single playoff trip—which lasted all of five games—during his first decade in the league. He isn’t someone who elevates the players around him, and he can actually make things more difficult for them given his limitations as a defender and his bouts of tunnel vision.

And imagine, we’ve gone this far discussing his flaws as a huge-money player without even bringing up his injury issues. He has suffered a medley of maladies over his career, including an ACL tear in 2017 and soreness in the same knee that required surgery in 2022.”

The other four players on Buckley’s list are Bradley Beal, Jordan Poole, Ben Simmons, and Andrew Wiggins.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

K.C. Johnson: A successful Chicago Bulls season would have had a Zach LaVine trade

If one prominent NBA analyst is correct in his assessment of what a successful Chicago Bulls season might look like, there is no longer any chance of one for the Bulls.

If one prominent NBA analyst is correct in his assessment of what a successful Chicago Bulls season might look like, there is no longer any chance of one for the Bulls after the team’s front office elected to stand pat at the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline.

Bulls beat writer KC Johnson recently related that his vision of what a successful season for Chicago would have involved the ball club managing to get off the contract of injured star guard Zach LaVine. Of course, it was that foot injury and the subsequent surgery to repair it that tanked any chance of the UCLA alum being dealt before the 2024 offseason.

But might the team’s front office have tried a bit harder to move LaVine before he elected to get that surgery?

To hear Johnson’s thinking on the success of this Bulls season and why he feels that way, take a look at the clip embedded above.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Report: Bulls ‘worked hard’ to trade Zach LaVine prior to injury

The Chicago Bulls reportedly tried hard to trade Zach LaVine before his injury led to season-ending surgery.

The Chicago Bulls didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline. Rather than resetting the roster around Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Patrick Williams, they kept everybody on board in favor of making a push for the playoffs this year. And while they have plenty of solid players on the roster, they don’t have the talent to compete with the top teams in the East.

Just because they didn’t make any moves doesn’t mean they didn’t try, however. In fact, they were attempting to make a blockbuster move, but outside factors got in the way, leading to them standing pat.

According to Howard Beck of The Ringer, the Bulls were trying very hard to get rid of Zach LaVine prior to his season-ending surgery.

“More than one executive also listed the Miami Heat as a potential candidate for a shake-up, given Jimmy Butler’s age (35 in September) and mileage,” Beck wrote. “The Chicago Bulls, who worked hard to unload Zach LaVine before he got hurt, will surely try again.”

At this point, it seems likely that LaVine has played his last game in a Bulls jersey.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Did Zach LaVine get surgery to prevent the Chicago Bulls from trading him to the Detroit Pistons?

Was the call made to stave off a change of address, or were the repeated attempts to get his lower extremities into game shape simply too much for him to bear?

Did Zach LaVine get surgery to prevent the Chicago Bulls from trading him to the Detroit Pistons? This is not to say that the UCLA alum’s right foot has not been a problem for him, or that his injury was in any way less than it has been framed as. But the timing of his decision — effectively tanking any chance of dealing away LaVine before the Feb. 8 trade deadline — was certainly an effective shield against such an outcome.

Was the call made to stave off a change of address, or were the repeated attempts to get his lower extremities into game shape simply too much for him to bear?

This was the topic of conversation among several on a recent episode of ESPN’s “Numbers on the Board” podcast, which saw hosts Derrick and Pierre join Kenny Beecham to discuss Zach LaVine’s opting for a season-ending surgery.

Check it out above!

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

What’s next for Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls after his season-ending foot surgery?

Chicago’s front office is going to want to proceed with caution in how they use LaVine’s contract in their presumed retool of the roster, but is there a chance they try to run it back?

What’s next for Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls after his season-ending foot surgery? LaVine’s trade value ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline has been in something of a free fall. This strongly suggests that LaVine will be in red and white through at least the end of the season.

But could the Bulls find him a home in the 2024 offseason, when teams have more assets to move and the UCLA alum can show his recovery is coming along apace — or even successful, with some luck? Chicago’s front office is going to want to proceed with caution in how they use LaVine’s contract in their presumed retool of the roster, but is there a chance they try to run it back?

The eponymous host of the Ball Don’t Lie “Good Word with Goodwill” podcast linked up with Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer to talk it over.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what the pair had to say.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]