The Chicago Bulls can cement their next path by offloading expensive veterans Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine via trade. However, the two-time All-Stars have failed to generate much of a market for various reasons.
That may have changed for LaVine. His health and contract were among the concerns of prospective teams. But LaVine’s play is piquing the interest of at least one rival team.
That team, the Denver Nuggets, could find completing a trade difficult, though.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale suggested sending LaVine to the Nuggets for forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji. Both players were part of Denver’s championship run in 2022-23 and are former first-round picks.
“A package built around Porter is the only framework to propose, since neither Aaron Gordon nor Jamal Murray can be flipped after signing extensions,” Favale wrote on December 23.
“Chicago won’t be thrilled about taking on the balance of Nnaji’s contract (three years, $23.2 million) when he can’t jump a 36-year-old DeAndre Jordan in Denver’s rotation. But he’s just 24 and, conceptually, someone who can stretch the floor and move his feet on defense.”
Bulls get:
- Michael Porter Jr.
- Zeke Nnajie
Nuggets get:
- Zach LaVine
“Porter is owed a pretty penny himself (two years, $79.1 million),” Favale wrote. “His price point is only uncomfortable if you think he won’t stay healthy. It is otherwise fair-weather money for a deadeye 6’10” shooter who is three years younger than LaVine and, at his peak, has demonstrated the capacity to lock in defensively and crash the glass.”
The Bulls have until the trade deadline on February 6 to decide on Porter, though their stance on LaVine has remained unchanged.
Zach LaVine Changing Negative Narrative With Strong Play
A foot injury and surgery to address it ended LaVine’s 2023-24 season and the possibility of a trade early. He is owed nearly $95 million over the next two seasons and has a player option for the 2026-27 season.
According to The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry, that has not exactly been the biggest hurdle in the Bulls’ trade efforts regarding LaVine.
The Bulls have been against including picks in a trade to dump LaVine’s salary.
“Since the start of last season, when the Bulls and LaVine became open to a trade, Chicago has hesitated to move LaVine because of a lack of desired compensation. The sticking point even through offseason negotiations — and the reason a deal was never consummated — was the Bulls’ refusal to include additional assets to move LaVine,” Mayberry wrote on December 19.
“Now, thanks in part to LaVine’s impressive early-season performance, the Bulls might not have to. If the Nuggets are truly enamored with LaVine and open for business, they would effectively fulfill the Bulls’ wildest dream.”
The bigger issue, though, could be the Bulls’ rumored stance on receiving Nnaji in a potential trade, who would add size to the frontcourt.
Bulls ‘Ballked’ at Add-On to Potential Michael Porter Jr.-Zach LaVine Trade
“At least as of now, Bulls have shown no interest in taking Zeke Nnaji contract in any talks surrounding Zach LaVine,” Chicago Sports Network’s K.C. Johnson reported in a post on X on December 20.
Johnson’s report indicates trade talks between the Bulls and Nuggets are ongoing.
However, a report from The Stein Line’s Marc Stein underscores the Bulls’ stance on Nnaji’s inclusion in a potential trade.
“One potential trade iteration to surface as part of Denver’s confirmed interest in Chicago’s Zach LaVine is a swap that would bring LaVine and Torrey Craig to the Nuggets in exchange for Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji,” Stein wrote on December 22. “Yet the Bulls, league sources say, have balked at Nnaji’s inclusion in such a trade.”
Without Nnaji, a trade with the Bulls becomes more complicated.
The Nuggets could package Porter with Dario Saric and Russell Westbrook. But they would lose size and energy. Meanwhile, the Bulls would have to waive two players to bring their roster into compliance with league rules.
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