The Philadelphia 76ers are could be looking to make a trade for Zach LaVine
The 76ers are looking to make another blockbuster trade after acquiring a big haul from the Clippers.
Below is a look at the assets the 76ers received in the Harden trade.
“In return, the 76ers received, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap, and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder,” sources told ESPN. – Adrian Wojnarowski
This new collection of players and draft picks has led Philadelphia to seek another trade. The 76ers reportedly want to trade for Chicago Bulls small forward Zach LaVine.
A source tells Legion Hoops the 76ers are eyeing a trade for Zach LaVine with their latest haul of picks. pic.twitter.com/AOcdVAfLZ0
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 31, 2023
State of the Bulls
While the Bulls have only played 4 games of the 2023-24 season, things have not been off to the smoothest of starts.
The season started with an embarrassing blowout loss to Oklahoma City in the home opener. Immediately after that game, Bulls players organized and held a players only meeting.
A players only meeting after the first game of the season is usually a sign of bad things to come.
The Bulls next game resulted in beating the Toronto Raptors 104-103 in overtime.
In the third game of the season the Bulls lost by 16 points to the young Detroit Pistons. The highlight of this game was an unstoppable Zach LaVine who scored a whopping 51 points in the Bulls loss.
Game 4 ended with the Bulls winning 112-105 over the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls got good production out of the core three players. Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan all recorded more than 20 points.
While there have been positives in this early season, but all things are pointing to LaVine being traded.
Diving deeper into LaVine’s situation
Zach LaVine had issues with the Bulls front office and coaches last season and this offseason as well.
There were talks of trading LaVine during the summer. An offer never appeared that the Bulls liked enough. Now that the 76ers have more compensation to add to a trade package for LaVine, the Bulls may agree.
LaVine is 28-years-old and in the prime of his career. He clearly has aspirations to do great things in the NBA, and it is looking like that won’t be in Chicago.
Philadelphia however, is still in a window to contend for the Larry O’ Brian trophy. The 76ers acquired a lot of depth in the James Harden trade. And by trading Harden they also rid themselves of a major distraction and liability.
Trading Zach LaVine to Philadelphia makes sense for all parties involved. LaVine can go to a championship contending team, the Bulls can get valuable pieces to start another rebuild, and the 76ers get a star forward to pair with Joel Embiid.
What all the trade speculation means
The Bulls did little to address the needs of the roster this offseason. The Bulls were just under .500 last season and lost in the play-in tournament. The front office seemed decided to run it back, with the same cast as last year.
If LaVine is traded it is officially rebuild time. Without Zach LaVine the Bulls don’t have the firepower to compete in an increasingly challenging eastern conference.
DeMar DeRozan has not been able to agree on a contract extension with the Bulls. His time in Chicago may be coming to a close also.
The LaVine-DeRozan era did not last very long in Chicago should the trade happen. The Bulls invested a lot of capital to build this roster, if it gets scrapped, another long rebuild may be on the way.
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