Windhorst: Bulls Would Trade Zach LaVine in Minutes and He'd 'Happily Go to Airport'

A recent strong stretch may not be enough to justify keeping Zach LaVine on the Chicago Bulls.

Chicago has gone 4-1 since LaVine returned to the lineup Jan. 5 after missing 17 games with a foot injury. He has also been very effective over this stretch, averaging 16.8 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Despite this, ESPN's Brian Windhorst still believes that trading LaVine is the best course of action for both sides and that neither LaVine or the Bulls would hesitate at the chance.

"If they could trade Zach LaVine in the next five minutes they would trade him and Zach would happily go to the airport," Windhorst said on NBA Today. "I don't think anything has changed there, I think they absolutely want to trade him."

LaVine is in the second season of a five-year, $215 million contract and is a player capable of being very productive on a contending team. He is averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and four assists on the season and is looking to average more than 20 points for the sixth consecutive season.

The Bulls, however, are not that contending team. Chicago currently sits at 19-22 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The team has not won a playoff series during LaVine's tenure and Windhorst stressed that the Bulls need to "restructure the roster."

A LaVine trade would likely allow Chicago to recoup some assets and also provide some more financial flexibility. It also would hurt the team's chances of winning, which could allow it to obtain a higher draft pick and not stay stuck in the middle of the league standings.