Bulls Rumors: Playing Fact or Fiction with Latest Buzz Ahead of NBA Free Agency

The NBA rumor mill is having a tough time making sense of the Chicago Bulls.

Most of what you hear is about their desire to keep this club together, which largely echoes what's been emanating from the Windy City for a while now. It also follows suit with the huge checklist item they have already taken care of: Extending Nikola Vučević and keeping him out of free agency.

Where everything takes a sudden turn, though, is in the rumblings about the possible availability of perhaps the closest player Chicago has to a franchise face. If continuity and competitiveness are the aims, then shopping possibly the team's best player runs directly counter to that.

So, could those trade talks simply be smokescreens without any real substance? Or might the Bulls be more option to change than everyone keeps saying they are?

To answer those questions, we're rounding up the latest rumors and attempting to decipher what's real and what isn't.

Zach LaVine Available?

Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

MIAMI, FL - APRIL 14: Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls shoots a free throw during the game against the Miami Heat During the 2023 Play-in Tournament on April 14, 2023 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Rumor: Chicago has "engaged several teams" on a potential Zach LaVine trade, per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.

The Verdict: Mostly fiction.

If the Bulls wanted a shake-up this summer, they could have let Vučević walk and shopped DeMar DeRozan. Turn these 30-somethings into more long-term assets, and Chicago might have sidestepped a rebuild and perhaps done something closer to a reloading.

Dealing LaVine would've been something different. The 28-year-old is the cornerstone of this club now and for the foreseeable future. If the Bulls let him go, their entire focus could have (and should have) shifted into asset-accumulation mode.

That's why this is hard to take at face value. Nothing suggests Chicago is ready to embrace the kind of wholesale changes that a LaVine trade would have sparked.

Where this might have a wrinkle of truth, though, is the possibility the Bulls are doing their due diligence and want to know how the trade landscape looks should they decide to deal LaVine down the line. They might have to abandon ship at some point if this club can't escape the grasp of mediocrity, and they could be gathering some early intel on how that scenario might play out.

Bulls Keeping Young Guards?

Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 24: Ayo Dosunmu #12 and Coby White #0 of the Chicago Bulls looks on during the game on March 24, 2023 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Rumor: Bulls are "expected to bring back" Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White, per Fischer.

The Verdict: Fact.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when it appeared White ranked prominently among the league's likeliest trade candidates. His skill set seemed redundant with this roster, and his role was shrinking in a way that stagnation seemed imminent.

But everything changed this past season. Well, almost everything. His role reduction didn't stop (career-low 23.4 minutes), but he ramped up his development anyway. He played a crisper, cleaner, more impactful game, showing particular growth as a playmaker and defender.

The rise was subtle enough, though, to not picture anyone blowing up his market in restricted free agency. So, keeping him suddenly became not just likely but also a borderline formality.

The Bulls can match any offers that Dosunmu and White receive, and doing so would almost certainly go down as good business. This not only accomplishes Chicago's goal of keeping this core intact, it also holds onto some young talent who could play expanded roles should the Bulls blow this roster up down the line.

Patrick Beverley Could Return?

Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

MIAMI, FL - APRIL 14: Patrick Beverley #21 of the Chicago Bulls dribbles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat during the 2023 Play-In Tournament on April 14, 2023 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Rumor: "There remains the chance" that Patrick Beverley stays in Chicago, per Fischer.

The Verdict: More fiction than fact.

Beverley, a Chicago native, had a notable impact on his hometown club after signing with the Bulls in February.

The 34-year-old perhaps came as close as anyone to filling the massive void left behind by the injured Lonzo Ball. Beverley set a tone defensively, helped coordinate things on offense and spaced the floor as a three-point threat.

So, why are we skeptical about his return? Because both he and the Bulls have other, potentially more attractive options to pursue.

He could attract interest from teams closer to championship contention, and he might weigh winning more than most as a ringless veteran closing in on his 35th birthday.

The Bulls, meanwhile, could try turning this position over to their young players—last year's first-round pick, Dalen Terry, is still awaiting his sink-or-swim opportunity—or could go a different direction the veteran market, like perhaps reuniting with Derrick Rose.