NBA Rumors: Bulls, Nuggets Trade Talks on Zach LaVine, Porter Jr. 'Dormant for Now'

The Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets previously discussed swapping Zach LaVine and Michael Porter Jr., but those talks are "dormant" for now, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

"The Nuggets had some talks about moving Porter for the Bulls' Zach LaVine earlier this season," Windhorst wrote.

"And while those talks are dormant for now, the team's willingness to involve Porter indicates the 2023 champions are mulling a shake-up to a core that has underachieved this season."

Denver, which won the NBA title two years ago, is a respectable 20-14, good enough for fourth in the Western Conference. Expectations are certainly higher in Denver, though, especially given that the team still has the same top four from the championship core two years ago in three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, Porter, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are fighting for the playoffs once again, sitting at 17-19 and 10th in the Eastern Conference. They have won four of their last five, though, and will soon embark on a five-game home stand in which no opponent has a winning record. So things are looking up in Chicago, and LaVine in particular has been on fire with 33.3 PPG.

LaVine has seemingly been in trade rumors for years now, but he's remained in Chicago. He is due $45,999,660 for 2025-26 and has a $48,967,380 player option in 2026-27 that he can decline to become a free agent.

The Porter piece of the equation is interesting, simply because he's having the best season of his career, averaging 19.1 points on 52.4 percent shooting (42.3 percent from three). Like LaVine, Porter has been hot of late, posting 23.6 PPG for a Nuggets team that's won four of five.

Ultimately, it might be best for both teams to hang onto these players as they excel, especially given their recent winning stretches. Things can change in a month's time before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, but for now, it seems all status quo on the Bulls-Nuggets trade front.