Teams looking into trade availability of this Bulls All-Star guard

Through 11 games, LaVine is averaging 21.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and three assists, down from last season’s points (24.8) and assists (4.2). The Bulls are currently 4-7 following Monday’s 118-109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and questions are arising about the team’s ceiling. 

A players-only meeting was already called after only one game into the regular season, and tensions will continue to rise as the losses pile up.

The 2021-22 season was the only year the Bulls made the playoffs during LaVine’s tenure and the result was a first-round exit in five games against the Milwaukee Bucks. Last season, the Bulls posted a 40-42 record and were eliminated from the play-in tournament by the Miami Heat. 

This year, the team as currently constructed is nowhere close to a playoff contender, ranking 21st in offense and 22nd in defense per Cleaning the Glass. With aging veterans in DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević and a lack of young players with star potential, the Bulls front office needs to consider a rebuild.

The biggest obstacle in a LaVine trade is his contract, as he is currently in Year 2 of a five-year, $215M max contract with an AAV of $44M. Teams might be hesitant to give up real assets and cap space for a ball-dominant scorer who is a below-average defender.

The time is coming for this franchise to make a dramatic change and The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry reported that one league source anticipates that the Bulls' roster will look very different as early as a month from now.