Zach LaVine signed a five-year, $215 million deal with the Chicago Bulls before the 2022-23 season. The then-26-year-old was coming off an All-Star season in which he averaged nearly 25 points a game.
Last year, the UCLA product played just 25 games.
Along with the massive money left on his deal, the injury-prone, one-dimensional guard’s value around the NBA hit rock bottom. The Bulls were rumored to be willing to attach a first-round draft pick to him in any deal and still couldn’t find any takers.
He’s rehabbed his value through the first three weeks of this season, though, as, despite missing a few more games, he has bumped his scoring numbers back up to 23.4 points per game and is shooting a career-high 42.6 percent from three on 7.6 attempts a night.
That’s led to some speculation – or perhaps hope in Chicago’s case – that LaVine may once again be desirable to certain teams around the league, even if it comes at a reduced price.
One trade idea proposed by Dan Favale of Bleacher Report would be an interesting proposition for Chicago as one of the trendy preseason picks in the Eastern Conference attempts to stay afloat with its star on the shelf.
A young Orlando Magic team vaulted itself up to the No. 5 seed in last year’s East playoffs and took the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round. Paolo Banchero was a breakout star as he carried Orlando to the tune of 27.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists on shooting splits of 46/40/76.
The Magic were set to carry that momentum into this season and have, to a certain extent, but Banchero will be out until at least Christmas with a torn right oblique, putting a serious damper on the expectations the team had for its season.
To help fill that offensive void, Favale proposesd the following deal:
Orlando gets a steady 20-plus-point-per-game scorer to help fill in for Banchero and help space the floor and provide high-level secondary offense when the 22-year-old returns.
But how does this move work for the Bulls?
Grading the mock LaVine trade for the Bulls
Frankly, if Chicago can get anything of value in return for LaVine, it would be considered a win, but it’s worth breaking down this idea further.
When he’s on, Anthony is a microwave scorer similar to what the Bulls already have in Coby White, but he could replace some of the points LaVine takes with him to Florida.
Isaac is one of the NBA’s most injury-prone players of the last few seasons, but when he’s right, he’s one of the league’s best defenders. Athletic, 6-foot-10 and with a 7-foot wingspan, the 27-year-old is capable of guarding any position, one through five.
That’s certainly something the Bulls don’t have and could desperately use.
Da Silva was the 18th overall pick in last summer’s draft, a versatile 6-foot-8 guard who’s averaging 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game for the Magic.
Add in a first-round pick that will likely convey in this year’s loaded draft and the Bulls have three rotation pieces, potentially two of them starters, and more draft capital to play with. This is an easy yes for Chicago.
