A massive trade proposal has the Chicago Bulls dealing one of their star players to a perennial NBA Championship contender.
Star guard Zach LaVine has been frequently mentioned in trade rumors since the Bulls lost their play-in game to the Miami Heat back on Apr. 14. If the Bulls decide they want to rebuild, they could certainly get valuable young assets for stalwarts like LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley put together a list of five NBA blockbuster trade ideas. Among his proposals: Chicago sending LaVine and 2022 first-rounder Dalen Terry to the Heat in exchange for Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro and Nikola Jović:
“LaVine is an elite offensive player. Sure, he has his defensive drawbacks—as does (Damian) Lillard—but teaming him with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo could bring out the best of all three. And Miami, which needs another point guard after losing Gabe Vincent in free agency, could work its developmental magic on Terry, a 2022 first-rounder with the defense and activity to be a #HeatCulture fit.
Meanwhile, Chicago could be wary of plateauing as a play-in team and see this trade as a way of raising its ceiling. This trade package is somewhat future-focused, but not in a way that would waste the remaining prime years of DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević.
Herro is close to matching LaVine’s production already. Robinson would scratch a huge itching for spacing. Jović rarely saw the floor as a rookie, but if he gets a chance, he could be an interesting change-of-pace reserve for his combination of size (6’10”), scoring versatility and playmaking.”
The Heat made it to the NBA Finals as the eighth seed thanks to an elite defense and the all-world play of Butler. But they lacked scoring depth beyond Butler and Bam Adebayo, and that allowed the Denver Nuggets to soundly put them away in five games.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
Miami has been widely regarded as the front-runner for Damian Lillard, who recently requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. If the Heat cannot finalize a trade for Lillard, LaVine would be a quality backup option.
In 77 games last season, the 28-year-old LaVine averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. The two-time All-Star has averaged over 20 points per game in five consecutive seasons, including a career-high 27.4 in 2020-21.
