With a beer in one hand, a spoon to stir my Brazilian chicken stroganoff in the other, and my “evening vibes” mix playing on Spotify, I was prepared to enter the weekend in maximum relaxation mode. And then Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports published a stinkin’ article.
The Chicago Bulls trade rumors continue to snowball. Starting with Kyle Neubeck’s report earlier this week, Zach LaVine’s name has now been thrown around the trade market by several sources. Of course, most reports tie the Bulls to the Damian Lillard sweepstakes, but Fischer is the first to suggest that Chicago could go in a different direction.
Indeed, the Bulls were name-dropped as one of several teams that could have an interest in acquiring Tyler Herro from the Miami Heat. For more thoughts on that whole thing, here’s the post I wrote while munching on some of that stroganoff.
We’ll have to see if this Herro thing gains any more traction before we put too much weight into it. However, the fact we’ve now seen this come up is the exact reason I wrote this post immediately after the initial LaVine-Lillard rumor surfaced this week …
So, yeah, I don’t think these latest LaVine rumors are strictly about an interest in acquiring Damian Lillard. Instead, I think the Bulls are simply making it very clear that they are at odds about whether Zach LaVine is a valuable building block. This looming blockbuster trade presents them with an opportunity to potentially move the two-time All-Star. And, if this scenario doesn’t work out, there very well could be other big moves that present themselves down the road. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this week that he believes some “massive talents” could become available at this year’s trade deadline or next offseason.
Indeed, I think we can all agree the most likely outcome is that the Bulls do not get in on this Lillard trade. Woj reported that talks have been intensifying around the league, but let’s remember that multi-team deals can be extremely difficult to pull off. This is especially true when we consider that Miami nor Portland would make much sense for LaVine. The Trail Blazers are starting a rebuild, while the Heat’s main objective is to add Lillard. With that being the case, assuming Lillard does still end up in Miami, a fourth team with interest in LaVine would presumably have to get involved. And, well, there is a reason we don’t see many deals like that come to fruition. Way too many moving pieces.
On NBA Today to discuss Portland’s intensifying talks for a Lillard trade https://t.co/DCFoV1l7RS
Also, if all this LaVine smoke is coming from a legitimate front office fire, I’m wondering if they’re making phone calls about other players. If we’re being honest, I’m *shocked* that we haven’t heard anything about DeMar DeRozan yet. Even if the front office isn’t super sold on LaVine, keeping him around and happy makes far more sense than doing so with DeRozan. None of that is to say I don’t love and respect DeRozan for what he’s done in Chicago, but he’s a 34-year-old on an expiring contract. Shouldn’t cashing in on his value be a much bigger priority?
These recent rumors are almost implying that the Bulls want to move forward with DeRozan at the helm and get other win-now pieces back from LaVine. But I just don’t understand that line of thinking. As far as I’m concerned, if you move LaVine, then you have to move DeRozan and start fresh, right? Otherwise, keep LaVine and continue to see how you can revamp the pieces around him.
I’m also pretty darn concerned about an overwhelming sense of awkwardness at Media Day. While I know LaVine has been nothing but professional throughout his career, patience is bound to run thin eventually, right? Even if he says all the right things publicly, I can’t imagine he’ll love to be in the building every day while rumors about this front office doubting him linger. Anyway, I’m just interested to see what Arturas Karnisovas says. I have no doubt right now that he’ll be pushed a bit about all the recent hoopla.
Happy Birthday, Terry! Let’s not forget that Taylor is only 24 years old, folks. While playing time might be hard to come by, he is another youngster for this staff to try to develop.
Free agent G/F Lamar Stevens has agreed to a deal with the Boston Celtics, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. Stevens established himself as a defensive presence for the Cavs, starting in 25 of 62 games last season. Agent Scott Nichols completed deal with Celtics officials.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 22, 2023
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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