[Fischer] The Bulls have engaged several teams on LaVine trade opportunities…and it’s difficult to find a trade partner for the Bulls that is willing to sacrifice blue-chip players and first-round draft capital

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/2023-nba-free-agency-the-blazers-quest-to-improve-around-damian-lillard-remains-a-serious-challenge-152827475.html

Full Quote: Chicago’s point guard position is another piece of this overall free-agency puzzle. The Bulls are left without clear answers to Lonzo Ball’s ongoing misfortune with knee issues. Executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas told reporters following draft night that Chicago expects Ball to miss the entirety of the 2023-24 season, which has thrown the Bulls’ build completely off course after stacking a wealth of offensive talent. With a clear need at the position, and Alex Caruso viewed more as a wing playmaker than a floor general, the Bulls are expected to bring back restricted free agents Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White, league sources told Yahoo Sports. There remains the chance for Patrick Beverley to return to Chicago, sources said, after the veteran helped the Bulls march into the play-in tournament this spring, although Beverley has drawn interest from several playoff contenders as well. If he were to ultimately find a new home, the rumblings of Chicago pursuing a reunion with Derrick Rose, whom the Bulls targeted in 2021 for the salary slot that ended up going to Caruso, could certainly resurface.

The bigger questions in Chicago come down to the Bulls’ perceived Big Three of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and free agent Nikola Vučević. The Bulls have engaged several teams on LaVine trade opportunities, sources said, as the All-Star guard enters the second season of a five-year, $215 million contract. Chicago, however, is said to hold LaVine’s trade value far above the return that Washington netted for Bradley Beal earlier this month, and it’s difficult to find a trade partner for the Bulls that is willing to sacrifice blue-chip players and first-round draft capital for the 28-year-old and his lucrative contract in the league’s new economic landscape. Maybe the Knicks will kick the tires again on a serious LaVine overture this summer, but New York has so far drawn atypical praise from around the NBA for the Knicks’ recent patient team-building approach. Dallas was seen as one of LaVine’s most ardent suitors last offseason before he re-signed with Chicago, but the Mavericks since went on to acquire Irving as the second banana to Luka Dončić.

LaVine’s big deal makes the Bulls’ dance with the luxury tax as tricky as any team’s, primarily considering contract talks with Vučević and any potential extension DeRozan can command while he enters the final season of his contract. Even at 34, DeRozan’s play has been well-deserving of another payday, with his blistering midrange scoring that doesn’t pose a consistent threat from beyond the arc. There continue to be questions, though, about DeRozan and LaVine’s long-term pairing in Chicago, as the two talented scorers have struggled at times with sharing primary creation opportunities in Billy Donovan’s offense. Vučević’s return to Chicago appears likely. The Bulls wouldn’t be thrilled about Vučević walking after mortgaging two first-round picks and Wendell Carter to acquire him at the 2021 trade deadline. Vučević’s situation seems far from cut and dried as many league observers have believed it was dating back to May’s NBA Draft Combine.

There isn’t much of a starting center market this summer. Boston already splurged for Kristaps Porziņģis. The Rockets might prove to be an option for Vučević if Houston’s top target, Brook Lopez, spurns the Rockets’ advances and stays in Milwaukee, but would Vucevic want to join a rebuilding environment? Plus, Houston head coach Ime Udoka is focused on installing greater defensive principles in his first season at the helm of the Rockets, and Vucevic doesn’t bring the same level of back-line anchor ability that Lopez or Jakob Poeltl — expected to return to Toronto, sources said — could provide behind Houston’s young core. Maybe San Antonio, as the Spurs target centers to pair in the frontcourt with Victor Wembanyama, could be the other possible destination Vučević needs for optimal leverage — unless the Spurs are a real threat to steal Poeltl back from Toronto, as several front office figures have mentioned in recent weeks.

Elsewhere in the Bulls’ frontcourt, Andre Drummond has until Thursday to decide on his $3.4 million player option for next season, or whether the veteran center wants to pursue a minimum-salary opportunity with a stronger playoff contender.