NBA Rumors: Bulls' Alex Caruso on Trade Block Would Lead to a 'Line' of 10-Plus Teams

Rumors circulated this past week that the Chicago Bulls were willing to listen to offers for Zach LaVine and that the shooting guard was open to a potential move.

But it may be one of his teammates who truly has the rest of the NBA intrigued.

"If the Bulls decided to make Alex Caruso available, the line of teams chasing him would stretch into double digits," NBA reporter Marc Stein said on his #thisleague UNCUT podcast Thursday (33:55 mark) with Chris Haynes of TNT and B/R.

One of those teams is his former employer, the Los Angeles Lakers, who have interest in LaVine as well "at the right price," according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha. He added that "if additional Bulls players become available, the Lakers would also have interest in DeMar DeRozan and/or former Laker Caruso, according to multiple team sources."

The Lakers have a series of contracts they can't trade until Dec. 15, so any Caruso reunion with the Lakers would have to wait. But they are certainly a team to keep an eye on.

Granted, the Bulls may not have interest in dealing Caruso, and even they do, it likely won't be at a bargain-bin price:

Caruso, 29, isn't going to blow anyone away with gaudy counting stats. He's averaging 8.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 60.8 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from three.

But his ability to play lockdown defense on the perimeter, spread the floor as a shooter and serve as a secondary playmaker in the backcourt is highly valuable for contending teams. Championship squads need the right type of role players to complement their superstars, and Caruso is a Swiss Army knife in that regard.

If the Bulls opt to trade LaVine, it's possible—and arguably preferable—that a full rebuild will follow. These Bulls are just 4-8 this season, missed the playoffs last year (40-42) and lack both the chemistry in the short term and top-end talent to seriously contend in the longer term, even if they figure things out.

In that regard, there's very little reason to hold onto Caruso. The Bulls would be better off accumulating as many young players and draft assets as possible and starting from scratch.

If they do, expect a long line of suitors to ask about Caruso.