Trade Packages for Zach LaVine and Every Top Chicago Bulls Trade Asset
A Chicago Bulls rebuild has felt like a borderline inevitability from about the moment this core came together.
Over the two-plus seasons Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević have been together, the team is minus-2.4 points per 100 possessions when all three are on the floor.
And now, based on what feels like a long-overdue report, it looks like that trio may be broken up before this February's trade deadline.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Chicago is seemingly ready to move on from LaVine:
On top of that, Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes has floated Alex Caruso as a potential target for the Milwaukee Bucks. DeRozan is on an expiring, movable contract. And Vučević wouldn't make much sense on the roster if the the other veterans are jettisoned.
When you connect those dots, it's not hard to understand this post from The Athletic's Darnell Mayberry:
So, where will all of the stars and role players above be in February?
Scroll below for deals involving each.
Alex Caruso to the Nuggets
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The Deal: Alex Caruso for Julian Strawther, Reggie Jackson, Vlatko Čančar and a 2030 first-round pick swap
Haynes could be on to something with the idea of Caruso in Milwaukee. Without Jrue Holiday at the point of attack, the Bucks defense has been dreadful.
But No Dunks' Trey Kirby brought up another contender Caruso could help: the Denver Nuggets.
It may be a little early to bail on Denver's experimental bench led by role players on rookie contracts like Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. And Reggie Jackson has at least been solid in his new role as backup point guard. But Caruso undeniably raises the short-term ceiling of this second unit, and he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
Plus, a fairly reliable outside shot and the ability to create a bit off the dribble would make Caruso a viable replacement for Bruce Brown (who signed with the Indiana Pacers this past offseason). Being under contract through 2024-25 is a bonus too.
Of course, giving up rookie Julian Strawther, who is 6'7" and averaged a team-leading 17.8 points in the preseason, a first-round pick swap, a relatively reliable backup 1 in Jackson and Nikola Jokić's friend Vlatko Čančar may seem steep, but the Nuggets need to take advantage of the title window that's open now.
Čančar is out with a torn ACL and is mostly here for salary-matching purposes. Caruso and rookie Jalen Pickett can cover the backup guard minutes. And there is still plenty of potential on the wing in Braun, Watson and Hunter Tyson.
For Chicago, the 6'7" Strawther is an interesting shooter with decent size for a wing. He's also just 21 years old. He's likely the biggest get here, but a pick swap in 2030, when Jokić and Jamal Murray will both be past their primes, could prove valuable too.
And taking on Jackson and Čančar improves the team's flexibility. The former's $5.3 million player option for 2024-25 will be tradable. And Čančar is functionally on an expiring contract, since his $2.3 million for 2024-25 comes through a team option.
Nikola Vučević to the Grizzlies
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The Deal: Nikola Vučević for Luke Kennard, Ziaire Williams and a lottery-protected 2029 first-round pick
Signing Bismack Biyombo certainly stabilized things (the Memphis Grizzlies are significantly better when he's on the floor), but this team is still in last place in the West and without a bona fide starting 5 while Steven Adams recovers from season-ending surgery.
And while there's risk in a team with a bottom-10 three-point percentage trading a shooter as good as Luke Kennard, Nikola Vučević checks more boxes and will pull defenders away from the three-point line, presumably giving Desmond Bane more time to shoot outside.
Despite the fact that he's 33, probably a minus defender at this point in his career and a below-average three-point shooter over the last two-plus seasons, Vučević's low-post scoring, rebounding and passing still make him an upgrade inside.
He could be a solid pick-and-roll partner with Ja Morant once his 25-game suspension is up too.
And while the team's 2-8 start feels bad, the parity in the middle of the West could help the Grizzlies stay in the hunt for a play-in spot until that suspension ends.
For the Bulls, if some team is willing to offer a first (even a protected one) for Vučević, it'll be hard to say no. And this deal gives them a 22-year-old, 6'8" wing who's been way below replacement level for his career but still has plenty of time to develop.
For this specific trade, Kennard is mostly here for salary-matching purposes. He wouldn't fit a rebuilding timeline, but he's also a good enough shooter for the Bulls to flip elsewhere for more prospects or assets.
DeMar DeRozan to the Heat
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The Deal: DeMar DeRozan for Kyle Lowry, a 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles) and a 2029 first-round pick swap
There aren't many teams that could trade for 34-year-old DeRozan and get younger, but that's exactly what's happening here with the Miami Heat.
Swapping his expiring contract for Kyle Lowry's is a virtual wash in terms of short- and long-term flexibility, but DeRozan's mid-range prowess could help an offense that's currently bottom 10.
He's never been known as a good defender, but being six inches taller than Lowry is a strength in itself. Adding him to the rotation would make the defense more versatile and switchable.
Plus, with its elite coach Erik Spoelstra and the vaunted #HeatCulture, Miami might be the best place to tap whatever potential DeRozan has left on that end.
The calculus for Chicago on this one isn't much different than the that on the Vučević slide. DeRozan's value can't be high right now. He's well past his prime, shooting poorly to start this season and having a negative impact on his team's point differential for the 13th time in 15 seasons.
Two-and-a-half years from now, when LeBron James is in his 40s and the already-injury-prone Anthony Davis is in his mid-30s, that second-round pick could be fairly valuable. And who knows where Miami will be in 2029? Betting on the Heat's downfall has rarely made sense, but a pick swap that far in the future is a decent pickup.
Zach LaVine to the Lakers
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The Deal: Zach LaVine for D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2028 first-round pick swap and a 2030 top-five-protected first-round pick
From the moment the Los Angeles Lakers re-signed D'Angelo Russell to a two-year deal that included a player option for 2024-25, the contract felt like trade bait.
And now that their campaign has started with a mediocre record, a bottom-10 offense and injury-related absences for both Anthony Davis and LeBron James, it might be time to dangle that bait.
This move makes L.A.'s backcourt bigger and more explosive, likely pushes Austin Reaves to the 1 (where he may fit better) and takes some offensive pressure off LeBron and AD.
Losing Rui Hachimura isn't ideal, but more salary has to head that way for this to work under the collective bargaining agreement. And Cam Reddish may have shown enough life in his last few appearances to feel OK about the depth on the wing.
On the Bulls' front, this deal gives them an intriguing 20-year-old playmaker with wing size (he's 6'6" with a 6'10" wingspan), shorter contracts than LaVine's (which runs through 2026-27, when he has a player option) and multiple draft assets.
At 28, with a fairly robust injury history and a slow start to 2023-24, LaVine isn't likely to fetch the kind of superstar packages we've seen for others over the last couple years.
