Detroit Pistons: Trading for Zach LaVine
Yesterday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that teams are sniffing around Zach Lavine, who the Chicago Bulls might make available for trade:
Developing: NBA teams are probing the availability of Bulls two-time All-Star Zach LaVine and there is increased openness from both sides about exploring a trade, sources say.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 14, 2023
Details at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/2UvELP2lMG
Trading LaVine makes perfect sense for the Bulls, as they aren’t going anywhere with this current roster and it’s time to blow it up and start over. Most of the suitors will likely be contenders like the Lakers and 76ers, but the Pistons could get involved if Troy Weaver, like Stan Van Gundy, is desperate enough to try and save his job with a short-term fix.
There are trades that could potentially work for both teams:
I’ve mentioned that Jaden Ivey is one of the Pistons’ only trade assets and moving him might be a way to fix their roster and salvage their season.
In this trade, the Bulls get a young talent, draft capital and two big expiring contracts (Bojan’s isn’t fully guaranteed next season) which would be a great start to a rebuild.
The Pistons get the scorer they’ve been missing all season, an under-30 two-time All-Star who would take a whole lot of pressure off Cade Cunningham.
The deal makes sense in some ways, as Detroit needs a shake-up, they need a proven star and LaVine can be an elite scorer.
But this would be setting themselves up for another disaster.