After years of rumors, the Chicago Bulls have officially traded Zach LaVine.
One day after the Luka Doncic blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA has another major move on their hands. De’Aaron Fox is headed to the San Antonio Spurs in a multi-team trade that will also send Zach LaVine back to Sacramento, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Here are the full trade details via Charania:
Bulls Receive: Tre Jones, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, and full rights to their 2025 first-round pick
Spurs Receive: De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings Receive: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks, three second-round picks
The Bulls will also reportedly generate a significant $26.0 million trade exception as part of this deal. Huerter is being acquired into a pre-existing exception that was created via the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade this past summer, and Jones will be signed via their nontaxpayer mid-level exception, per John Hollinger of The Athletic. Whether or not they will be able to make use of this exception remains to be seen.
LaVine’s time with the Bulls officially comes to an end after eight seasons with the franchise. He will finish his time in Chicago averaging 24.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists over his 416 games played. The trade is expected to reunite LaVine with former teammate DeMar DeRozan, who signed with the Kings this offseason on a three-year deal worth $73.9 million.
Zach LaVine Traded to the Kings
After weeks of LaVine being linked to teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns, the Sacramento Kings are the team to swoop in and land the 29-year-old scorer. For what it’s worth, LaVine has been linked to the Kings this offseason as a potential trade target, and he also once signed an offer sheet with the franchise before the Bulls matched in 2018.
On the one hand, the deal finally signifies a much-needed change of direction for the Chicago Bulls. They add several more young players, as well as confirm that they will hold onto their 2025 first-round pick in a deep draft class. The clear goal now is to prioritize lottery position and likely begin a full-fledged rebuild. The Chicago Sun-Time’s Joe Cowley made clear already that the front office is not done.
On the other hand, LaVine has put together a career year that has seen him average 24.0 points on a career-high 51.1 percent shooting from the field and 44.6 percent shooting from downtown. Considering they were already in a position to keep their current first-round pick (which was top 10 protected) at 21-29 makes this trade return feel extremely underwhelming. They technically did not add any more future draft capital after failing to do so in offseason deals for either DeMar DeRozan or Alex Caruso.
Do I like Kevin Huerter as an asset? Sure. He is only 26 years old, a 37.5 percent three-point shooter in his career, and could potentially be flipped again down the road. I’ve also long been a fan of Tre Jones, who is a high-IQ passer and scrappy defender. Zach Collins isn’t my cup of tea, but he will be on an expiring deal and serves as pretty basic salary filler in this scenario.
The problem is that the prized asset in this trade is recovering control of the Bulls’ own first-round pick. Not only is that a major indictment of the organization’s previous bad business, but it’s also a further indictment of the front office’s ability to maximize the trade market. How in the world do you trade Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso and receive ZERO additional first-round picks in return? That is truly unfathomable.
Did they need to pick a direction? Absolutely, and this trade at least indicates that they are ready to finally pursue a rebuild. That’s a silver lining. But, at the same time, how in the world can we trust that they will appropriately navigate this rebuild when they repeatedly fail to add draft capital and capitalize on the trade market? A rebuild means throwing as many darts as possible at the draft board, yet the Bulls haven’t added a single dart to their hand throughout this process.
In fact, they actually gave up a second-round pick in this deal!
Now, while we need confirmation on this, I guess it’s at least good to know they don’t have to worry about forfeiting the pick to San Antonio in 2026 or beyond. Assuming they received complete control, they now have more flexibility with their own draft capital. Nonetheless, if you are embarking on a rebuild anyway, then concern about losing the pick next season (when it was Top 8 protected) significantly diminishes. At the end of the day, the real problem here is that they ended up trading three starting-level players for zero extra first-round picks. That’s just bad.
I know I’ve begged for them to do literally anything for months on end. And, to an extent, I am glad to know they are accepting defeat and embracing a youth movement in earnest. However, in no way does this trade make me more optimistic about this front office’s ability to make the kind of moves that set this franchise up for sustained success. I guess we will see what else they have up their sleeve, but this leaves A LOT to be desired.
As for my thoughts on LaVine’s tenure coming to an end, I will genuinely miss watching him play night in and night out. He is one of the most gifted offensive players this franchise has ever seen, which is underscored by the fact that he sits sixth all-time in points scored. Year after year despite organization incompetence, LaVine remained professional and appeared legitimately hopeful that he could be a part of better days in Chicago. It was never his fault that the Bulls underachieved, and I hope Bulls fans recognize that.
I wish him luck in Sacramento and truly do hope that better days rest ahead. He deserves it.