The Chicago Bulls can try for a do-over.
They passed on the opportunity to land Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. in the 2018 draft due to medical concerns. Those fears were initially well-founded. But Porter has been more durable in recent seasons and helped Denver win a championship in 2023.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley suggests trying to get Porter and teammate Zeke Nnaji in a trade for two-time All-Star Zach LaVine.
“Maybe LaVine’s trade value will look better closer to February, but for now, it’s hard to see teams giving much of anything for him,” Buckley wrote on November 22. Denver might be willing to look past all of that, though, if it thought his shot-making and creation would make life easier for Nikola Jokić. If the Nuggets feel they need a shake-up, their options will be limited by their draft-pick shortage, so it might have to be one of these change-of-scenery type swaps.”
Bulls get:
Michael Porter Jr.
Zeke Nnaji
Nuggets get:
Zach LaVine
Buckley cites the two years and nearly $95 million remaining on LaVine’s five-year, $215.1 million contract, extensive injury history, and lack of team success as primary reasons teams might be unwilling to offer much for him.
Nnaji and Porter would cost a combined $44.7 million, so the Bulls would shave $1.7 million off their bottom line with this trade.
Bulls Would Land Michael Porter Jr., Zeke Nnaji for Zach LaVine in Proposed Trade
“Chicago, meanwhile, might hold similar medical and financial concerns with Porter yet still prefer him since he’s younger, far less ball-dominant and easier to fit with its core,” Buckley wrote. “It might even hold out hope that the 26-year-old has more off-the-bounce elements to his game than he’s been able to show in Denver.”
Porter is in Year 3 of a five-year, $179.3 million contract with a $35.8 million cap hit in 2024-25.
He is averaging more rebounds and slightly more blocks than LaVine is through the same amount of appearances. But LaVine is averaging more points and has been more efficient.
Like Porter (No. 14 overall), Nnaji was a first-round pick, taken No. 22 overall by the Nuggets in 2020. Nnaji has seen his role diminish every year following a modest breakout in his second season.
He is in Year 1 of a four-year, $32 million pact.
“Nnaji primarily makes the money work here,” Buckley wrote, “but maybe the Bulls believe the 23-year-old could blossom with more consistent floor time than he’s found with the Nuggets.”
Zach LaVine Aware of Bulls’ Trade Plans
A trade – be it to Denver or somewhere else – would not come as a surprise to LaVine. He is aware of what the Bulls want to do amid the early stages of a youth movement.
“LaVine and center Nikola Vucevic know the Bulls are looking to trade them, and it likely would be to a contender once the market shifts closer to the trade deadline in February. They can help their own cause by playing the game the right way,” The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley wrote on November 10.
“Both players know that once the Bulls get to the midway point of the season, rotations and minutes might change in an effort to make sure the team keeps its top-10-protected first-round draft pick out of the Spurs’ hands next summer.”
The Bulls’ pick would be 16th entering play on November 23, per Tankathon.
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