The Chicago Bulls have been rebuilding since their 1998 NBA Championship in which Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, and Phil Jackson all left the Bulls after winning. Since their last championship, the Bulls have gone through 10 different head coaches and have not had recent playoff success. In fact, the Bulls are a team who have only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons— losing in the first round in 2017.
The Bulls have switched up their front office and have brought in Billy Donovan to be the next head coach of the organization and as a result, could result in Zach LaVine being on the move in the near future. According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the Mavericks are among the teams around the NBA that have already inquired with the Chicago Bulls about the availability of Zach LaVine.
“Multiple teams, including the Mavericks, have already inquired this offseason about trading for Zach LaVine.”
Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have been two gems for the Mavericks and are the future of the team, but may not be enough to take them back to the NBA Finals. Luke is an MVP candidate in his own right, but in today’s NBA, one man cannot win a championship for a franchise. Dallas made some good moves this offseason, bringing in Josh Richardson and Wesley Iwundu to help the team defensively on the wing, but they are still missing that third “go-to” guy, especially if Luka or Kristaps get hurt, which has been common with Porzingis over the years.
The Mavericks are in a position to make some moves, but nobody really knows what move they will make as NBA Analysis Network’s Grant Afseth stated, “It’s unclear what the Mavericks would need to send the Bulls in a trade package to get a deal done for LaVine.”
Dallas is in a great position as an organization but is still missing that one piece to the puzzle to be true contenders in the Western Conference. Zach LaVine has turned himself into a top player in the NBA and next to Luka and Porzingis, could be exactly what the Mavs need to win the NBA Finals.
With that being said, let’s take a look at three trade packages that could send Zach LaVine to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason.
