After getting bounced in the Play-In Tournament by the Miami Heat this past season, the Chicago Bulls decided to push forward. Arturas Karnisovas stated that the team had no intention of rebuilding. So far this summer, the moves they have made have been in an attempt to improve the roster.
However, as is the case with every offseason, there have been some rumblings of trade rumors. Zach LaVine, who signed a supermax extension with the Bulls last summer, has been at the center of most of said rumors. And while he doesn’t believe he’ll be traded, Zach Harper of The Athletic thinks Chicago has been trying to move him.
In his most recent NBA Power Rankings, in which he ranked the Bulls 24th, he said it “seems like” Chicago has been trying to trade LaVine but gaining little ground in talks.
“It seems like the Bulls have been trying to move Zach LaVine, and there just isn’t any progress with that,” Harper wrote. “So they’re … essentially running it back with a team that wasn’t nearly good enough the last two seasons. Lonzo Ball is out for the entire year. DeMar DeRozan has been great, but they seem pretty stuck, even with a solid supporting cast. I doubt a teardown happens, but does this team have any kind of ceiling beyond the Play-In Tournament? The front office has to find a pathway to something better, but any potential return for LaVine determines how well that retooling happens.”
Should the Bulls run it back next year? Or should they trade LaVine?
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Story originally appeared on Lonzo Wire