The Chicago Bulls traded Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings as part of the deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. LaVine heads out west to be reunited with his former Bull teammate DeMar DeRozan. In return for sending LaVine to Sacramento, Chicago brings in three new players and assurances on their first-round draft pick this year from San Antonio. Connecting LaVine and DeRozan again, the draft pick is now firmly in the hands of the Bulls after they traded it with protections to the Spurs after trading away DeRozan a few years ago.
For the Chicago Bulls, the trade has several angles to look at. On the more positive end, they were able to move off of LaVine’s massive $215 million contract and secure their selection for the upcoming NBA Draft. On the more negative end, they couldn’t take advantage of LaVine’s terrific season to get more of a return and instead brought back players who may take minutes away from some of their young and developing talent. On the national scene, this trade pushes the Chicago Bulls further and further into obscurity and mediocrity.
Zach LaVine Heading To Sacramento In Fox Trade
LaVine’s career as a Chicago Bull ended over the weekend as the two-time All-Star guard was shipped to Sacramento as part of the trade that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. In the second-biggest trade of the weekend, the Chicago side of the three-team deal was undoubtedly the footnote. LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks, and three second-round picks were sent to Sacramento. Fox and Jordan McLaughlin went to San Antonio, and Zach Collins, Tre Jones, and Kevin Huerter were sent to Chicago, along with the full rights and protections to their 2025 first-round draft pick.
Collins and Jones are coming to Chicago from San Antonio, with Huerter coming from Sacramento. The traded draft pick will officially be theirs with no conditions in this year’s NBA Draft. As part of the trade that brought DeRozan to the Bulls, the Spurs acquired top-ten protections on Chicago’s draft picks. That meant if the Bulls were slated to pick lower than tenth in the NBA Draft in any of the next three years, they would lose that selection to San Antonio. With this trade, they get out from under that clause and secure the pick for this summer.
Along with LaVine, the Chicago Bulls had to throw in two second-round draft picks that both went to Sacramento. The Kings now own Chicago’s 2025 and 2028 second-round selections. LaVine will now play for the team that signed him to an offer sheet before the Bulls ultimately matched and signed him.
Trade Fallout for the Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have been trying to trade LaVine almost immediately after signing him to a five-year, $215.2M contract extension after the 2021-22 NBA season. After a promising start to the Arturas Karnisovas-Marc Eversley era in Chicago, the debilitating knee injury to Lonzo Ball derailed the Bulls, and could not recover. The trading of LaVine is just the latest in the slew of backtracks made to undo a team that was at one point in time the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The backtracks trickle into the details of this trade as well.
When the team decided to trade for DeRozan, they included draft protections to give to the Spurs that would give them a first-round pick if the selection was outside the top ten. The Bulls retained full ownership of their 2025 draft pick in this trade. To make room on the roster for Collins, Jones, and Huerter, Torrey Craig and Chris Duarte had to be waived. Duarte was a piece the Bulls brought back when they executed a sign-and-trade with the Kings in the offseason. Chicago acquired two second-round picks in that deal, and now they send two second-round picks back to Sacramento.
Final Thoughts
This trade should be the nail in the coffin of this administration for the Chicago Bulls. When Michael Reinsdorf finally moved on from Jim Paxson and Gar Forman, it was a shot in the arm for Bulls fans. In the first couple of years of the Karnisovas-Eversley front office, there were signs that business was changing at the United Center. That time is a distant memory to fans now and this administration should be gone by the time this team heads to Cabo in the offseason.
The whole point of holding onto LaVine during the season was to recoup some of his trade value and then as teams become more desperate and needs become more prevalent, you can get a bigger haul back for your best player. The risk is that you’re too good with the roster as constructed to be in a position to form a productive rebuilding landscape. This front office somehow threaded the worst possible needle in this LaVine trade saga. The team held onto him, worsening their draft probabilities and still ending up with no assets in return.
The Chicago Bulls gained no additional value for holding onto LaVine until this point in the year and could ostensibly have gained no draft capital depending on how the team plays from here on out. They added salary dump contracts that are going to take up playing time for young players. They added their draft pick, which they already had a claim to, while losing two of their other draft picks and waiving two players. This trade exemplifies the hamster wheel that this franchise is determined to keep running on until someone gets in their way.
Not only do I think the Chicago Bulls could’ve gotten a better deal, but I’m not sure this wasn’t a skit on “Impractical Jokers.” There were so many tracks the Bulls could’ve taken to making the most out of LaVine this season and they took none of them.
To be fair, he took care of his end of the deal. LaVine was a model citizen and played some of the best basketball of his entire Chicago tenure, including career-highs in shooting efficiency. In terms of a broad view for the Bulls with this trade, it’s emblematic of an era in this team’s history that has continued to brand them accurately as middling, mediocre, and perhaps worst of all: Irrelevant.
