The offseason hasn't officially started for the NBA but that won't stop people from posting trade proposals. There has been a lot of discussion surrounding Bull's shooting guard Zach LaVine and where he will be next season. Social media has been filled with trade proposals for the Bulls and most are subpar at best. However, this morning on the ESPN radio show Keyshawn, Jwill, & Max they offered up a three-team trade involving LaVine. They posted the trade proposal adding "who says no?". I'll let you take a look at it yourself but most Bulls fans would agree it would be the Bulls who say no.
LaVine has been rumored to LA since the season ended so of course a trade was created where he would end up in LA. In this scenario, the Bulls end up adding power forward Julius Randle and guard Evan Fournier. This deal would have to include a sign and trade for LaVine but the Bulls will be taking on a lot with Randle. But this trade would not be worth it for the Bulls. Some may disagree but I'll break down why.
The gain isn't better than the loss
Looking at who the Bulls would be gaining it doesn't offset the loss from LaVine leaving. Julius Randle is coming off a season where he averaged 20.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, & 5.1 APG. Great stats and is a solid player. The issue is that he is not going to create his own offense like LaVine. Take away LaVine's playmaking ability and the Bulls have just become a team that can easily be stopped. The fact that Fournier gets thrown into this trade doesn't make up for that. Fournier just gives the Bulls an additional bench guard. Not to mention Fournier still has three years left on his deal. Beyond the stats the financial aspect of this is awful. Randle just signed an extension in August of 2021 for four years $117 million. That is way too much money for someone like Randle. If people are complaining about giving LaVine the max they are going to be really upset when they are paying Randle until 2026 on this contract. This puts the Bulls in a position where they are stuck with Randle if he doesn't work out. Meanwhile, LaVine has shown that he can play well and show up when he's healthy. Why gain someone who is going to cost a bunch of money that you are uncertain about when you have LaVine right there? The gains here don't make the Bulls a championship team and this would be a terrible trade to take.Chicago does not want this
The best thing about social media is the instant reactions to things like this. Let me tell you Chicago media does not like this trade in the slightest. I haven't seen anyone who actually would like to see this happen.The Bull's front office is too smart to do something like this. The previous regime could have gotten itself into something like this but not the current management. This is a horrible trade on the Bull's end. If the Knicks are trying to dump Randle's contract on some team don't look to Chicago to do that. I'm sure there will be much more trade proposals posted until LaVine re-signs with the Bulls. I don't know if there will be any from a national media company like ESPN that will look this bad. I mean this is some pretty bad stuff and I'm sure ESPN knows it.
Until we get any reliable information I would assume LaVine is going to re-sign in Chicago. We've all seen the rumors that LaVine is interested in Portland or may truly want to leave. I don't put stock into that until the time comes. If LaVine is going to leave I would love to see a sign and trade to get something in return. However, if the trade is going to look something like this then I would let him walk.
