Zach LaVine's eight-year career in the Windy City has come to a screeching halt in a shocking three-team trade. It's hard to use the word shocking for any deal following the Saturday night blockbuster trade that saw Luka Doncic head to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and a future first-round draft pick. After requesting a trade last week, the Sacramento Kings have shipped De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, his preferred destination, and are receiving back two-time All-Star Zach LaVine from Chicago. This begs the question and could determine Arturas Karnisova's fate as the front office leader for the Bulls: what do they receive in the agreement?
Zach LaVine Salary Dump
From the initial looks of the trade details, the Chicago Bulls were desperate to get out from underneath LaVine's $45 million annual guarantee over the next three seasons. They will add 25-year-old Tre Jones, a free agent this summer, 28-year-old Zach Collins, who will hit free agency next summer, and 27-year-old Kevin Huerter, who becomes a free agent in the summer of 2026, and they retain the 2025 first-round draft pick that they'd previously owed to the Spurs (protected top-ten). Only netting three mid-level players on expiring contracts and a first-round pick that would have been retained when Chicago missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season is a weak return for a two-time All-Star guard still in his 20s.
Confirmed that Bulls are getting Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins and Tre Jones and keeping their 2025 first-round pick that was owed to Spurs with top-10 protection. Zach LaVine to Sacramento, where he reunites with DeMar DeRozan and once signed offer sheet in 2018.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 3, 2025
Contract Was Nearly Impossible To Move
Inking LaVine to the monster extension in the summer of 2022 will forever haunt the current Bulls regime. This move kept them from spending money on an All-NBA level talent in free agency and prevented them from trading away LaVine at nearly any cost. His contract was notoriously one of the least team-friendly deals leaguewide, as proven by the extremely weak return for a player averaging 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists per outing on over 51% from the field and nearly 45% from three-point land.
Full trade:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2025
Spurs: De'Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first round picks (2025 CHA, 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN), three second round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)
Bulls: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 pick via SAS https://t.co/UgwylCUYAO
De'Aaron Fox is a great example of how poor the decision was to pay LaVine at the rate and length that Karnisovas committed to. Fox, only two years younger than LaVine, is making over $12 million less annually than their new shooting guard and saw a return of a multi-time All-Star and six total draft picks, including three first-rounders.
Bulls fans, how do we feel about seeing a new era of basketball begin in Chicago, and who will be the next All-Star face of the franchise?
