The Chicago Bulls have come to a cross roads. After disappointing exits in the last two post-seasons it has become clear that the Bulls have a ceiling with this core. Coming into this year the focus was on continuity and the belief that this team could get back to what it was in the first half of the 2021 season when they sat atop the Eastern Conference. That clearly did not happen.
With that in mind, the Bulls maybe looking to break up this core of players. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Bulls have contacted several teams to gauge their interest in the two-time All-Star.
I think there is no harm in the Bulls looking to ship off someone from the core three of Lavine, Demar Derozan and Nikola Vucevic. Despite what may seem like a great offensive fit, the three All-Stars seemingly haven't been able to gel and along with the rest of the roster it just doesn't fit. The major issue is that the Bulls do not have an All-Star two-way player to make this core work. They had Lonzo Ball, but he may never step foot on an NBA court ever again, so I wouldn't count on him.
There is a ceiling to this current Bulls roster. If everyone outside of Lonzo was fully healthy, I could see a second round exit, maybe a fluky Conference finals run if things fell there way, but that's with everyone playing at their best and with Derozan getting older I don't see that happening.
With that said, as of now I think it would be a mistake for executive VP of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas to trade Lavine, especially now. If they truly aren't sold on Lavine being a franchise player then why did they give him a five year-$215 million contract before the start of this season. It makes it harder with Lavine's value being depressed as it is right now. If the Bulls front office wants to trade him, I would wait until the trade deadline of this season to see if Lavine can raise his trade value.
If I had my say in getting rid of anyone from the core it would be Derozan or Vucevic. Not from an on the court perspective, but an age perspective. The former USC Tojans will turn 34 and 33 respectively by the time next season rolls around and by that point how much can you truly get for guys who may be on the decline.
It is going to be very interesting to see how the Bulls decide to play this off-season with the position they are in with very few tradeable players and draft picks to potentially improve this team. AK and company are going to have some very hard decisions with the draft and free agency right around the corner.
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