Could Zach LaVine and Trae Young both be on the move this summer, and could that move be for each other? The play-in and postseason could tell a lot as far as players moving addresses.
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On paper, when the Hawks face the Bulls for the No. 10 at No. 9 play-in game it really is nothing more than a pillow fight of futility.
Two teams that belong in the offseason but missed the memo.
One will mercifully be sent to a rightful grave while the other gets one more opportunity to eventually be swept by the Boston Celtics.
In the scope of the 2023-24 season, it’s a blip on the map.
But Bulls-Hawks could also go a long way in reshaping the look of several Eastern Conference teams moving forward.
The Bulls regretted the Zach LaVine max contract before the ink dried on the paper. They can never admit that publicly because there’s a good chance they can’t move LaVine for the time being and have to play nice with him, while also trying to keep his agency – Klutch Sports – in good graces.
Atlanta has a similar problem with Trae Young – a lot of money going out but very little winning coming back in.
While their games and skillsets are different, Young and LaVine do have one major trait in common: They don’t impact winning.
Life with or without them is very much the same.
In the 56 games the Bulls have played without LaVine this season, the Bulls are 29-27. In the 23 games Young missed after having finger surgery, the Hawks went 12-11.
Two players who don’t move the needle but wreak havoc on the salary cap.
The Sun-Times, as well as multiple outlets, have reported that the Bulls will keep moving LaVine a high priority this offseason, while the Hawks are rumored to be looking for a shake-up in their backcourt with either Young or Dejounte Murray being moved.
If it is Young that’s when things can get interesting.
Because of the new collective bargaining agreement kicking in, trading a max contract will become a lot more difficult. It will almost have to be “my headache for your headache.”
Meet two headaches.
LaVine will make $43 million next season, $46 million in the 2025-26 campaign and has the player option for the final year at just under $49 million. Young’s deal is all but identical.
Swapping the two would give the Bulls more three-point shooting – they are currently 26th in the league in three-point attempts this season – while LaVine would allow Murray to be the one true point guard and give them a more traditional two guard.
Simple and clean.
Well, not the only two teams to watch as far as the postseason possibly shaking up their future.
Enter the Cleveland Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell.
The five-time All-Star has one year left on his current deal and then has the player option for $37 million in the 2025-26 season. The talk coming out of Cleveland this year has been if Mitchell wasn’t willing to sign an extension this summer, they could be looking to move him.
What would keep Mitchell around? An impressive postseason run by a Cavs team that has been treading water for months.
If Cleveland does get an early exit from the playoffs, would that seal Mitchell’s fate? That’s a good possibility. And in markets like Cleveland, Atlanta, and as much as the Bulls don’t want to admit it, Chicago, the only way to acquire big-name players these days is through trades.
Elite free agents still aren’t making any of those three cities destination places.
So yes, Bulls-Hawks is a very meaningless game as far as the playoffs go, but the outcome of that game could prove to be very impactful.