No matter how hard they try, the Chicago Bulls cannot give up Zach LaVine.
Accordingly Bobby Marks from ESPNThe Bulls have not been able to find a trade partner to take LaVine from them. Chicago is even willing to pay a first-round pick to trade the former All-Star, but there is no taker for his contract so far.
Marks was blunt in his assessment: “There is no market for Zach LaVine. They are trying to trade him away and get a first-round pick. Many, many people have told me that.”
That’s a damning assessment of LaVine’s value as he enters the third season of a five-year, $215.2 million contract. He’s scheduled to make $43 million in 2024-25, $46 million in 2025-26 and then a $49 million player option for 2026-27. He’s almost guaranteed to exercise that option, leaving him with $138 million over the next three seasons.
LaVine is coming off his worst season since 2018, playing just 24 games while dealing with a foot injury that eventually led to season-ending surgery. The 29-year-old averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 34.9 minutes per game. He shot 45.2% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range, his lowest shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line since the 2017-18 season.
It’s clear that LaVine’s value is rapidly declining and NBA teams don’t want to take on the entire salary, even if Chicago brings assets into the deal.
It’s looking more and more like the Bulls will have to either trade LaVine for another terrible contract or keep him. Either way, Chicago is going to be tight financially. The franchise already had to get rid of Alex Caruso by trading him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey and just agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract extension with Patrick Williams. These moves likely mean that veteran DeMar DeRozan will leave as a free agent.
If the Bulls don’t find a buyer for LaVine, their record could look bleak.
