The Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors negotiations may have taken a hit on Sunday night.
Despite the Warriors emerging as a suitor for Zach LaVine over the last week, the Bulls opted to send the two-time All-Star to Sacramento as part of a three-team deal. Exactly what the conversation between Chicago and Golden State looked like remains unclear, but Artuars Karnisovas must have believed there was more value to be had by joining a blockbuster with the Kings.
All things considered, this is at least a little surprising after a recent report from The Stein Line:
“League sources say that the Warriors did seriously explore trade constructions that would have brought both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević to the Bay Area before Golden State opted to focus on other trade pursuits,” The Stein Line shared on X.
So … wow! How do we feel about this?
On the one hand, a trade that involved both Vucevic and LaVine feels like it would have come with a pretty sizable return. The Warriors have a couple of very intriguing draft picks and young players, which we can’t really say the Bulls received in their deal with the Kings and Spurs.
On the other hand, there is a reason this deal didn’t get gone, right? While I’m slightly concerned that the Bulls were playing too much hardball, I lean toward believing the Warriors were either lowballing the heck out of them or acting too wishy-washy as they consider other avenues.
Likewise, the Bulls may have had to take on numerous long-term contracts, which is something they were at least able to avoid with the Kings-Spurs deal. Tre Jones is an expiring deal, while Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins only have one year left. Meanwhile, the Warriors would have likely had to include players like Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, and Buddy Hield, who each have at least three more years on their current contracts.
I’m sure the Bulls also knew that – regardless of what they did with LaVine – they could always continue to dangle Vucevic. While LaVine seemingly took precedence in recent days, Vucevic has been linked to the Warriors far longer. Golden State has made multiple comments about their desire for a stretch five, and there are few better this season than Vucevic. The big man is averaging roughly 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds to go along with a career-high 55.1 field goal percentage and 40.1 three-point percentage.
For what it’s worth, one of the last reports specifically about the Warriors’ interest in Vucevic maintained that the Bulls’ asking price was a first-round pick. Golden State has refused to meet those demands, but might that change as the reality of the deadline inches closer? Karnisovas is surely hoping so!
Bulls Also Talked to Bucks
Shortly after the Chicago Bulls made the LaVine trade official, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network let us know one other team that was pretty serious about striking a deal.
“Bulls engaged with Milwaukee on LaVine deal but ultimately shifted energy/focus to 3-team deal that happened,” Johnson shared on X.
The Bucks gained traction as a legitimate suitor in mid-January. Multiple reports linked LaVine to the East’s current 5-seed, and there was a lot of speculation that he could end up in Milwaukee via a potential mega-trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Phoenix. Still, for the Bucks to get anything done at this deadline, they need to offload their salary and dip below the second tax apron. They are also another team that would likely try to trade players on multi-year contracts to get the deal done, including the very banged-up Khris Middleton.
I don’t necessarily blame the Bulls for not pursuing this route, as you can only wait so long and there remains no guarantee that Milwaukee will be able to do business. Alas, this is a trade partner that would have intrigued me, especially if it led to landing one of their future first-rounders.