Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Chicago Bulls

Given all of the young talent the Chicago Bulls have and the potential of this roster, the Bulls should look to trade Zach LaVine while his value is still high, that way they can continue to draft high-level prospects. Much like the Warriors and Celtics have done, the Bulls are trying to build a core group of players for years to come from the draft and by trading LaVine, they can escalate their rebuild process tremendously and potentially make the playoffs next year.

While they have gotten off to a fast start this season, there is just too much other talent in the Eastern Conference for them to be a legit playoff team and while they may be in the hunt in the final month of the season, it seems reasonable to say they will miss the playoffs again.

Given the lack of success from this team over the years, Zach LaVine has to be frustrated, whether he says he is or not, and if they fail to make the playoffs again with him on the roster, he may request a trade next offseason, thus leading to his value on the trade market declining. Chicago can’t afford to lose value on LaVine, especially if he is not in their long term plans, which is why this trade with the Pelicans makes the most sense.

Lonzo Ball and Nickeil-Alexander Walker are not close to reaching the peaks of their respective careers yet and they are already key role players in New Orleans. With a few years to develop further with a young Bulls team, they could not only emerge as leaders for this franchise, but key, core players for Chicago in their pursuit of future championships. 

The best part about this trade, as mentioned earlier, is the draft compensation Chicago receives for LaVine. Getting two first-round picks and a second-round pick gives the Bulls plenty of options on how to build their team through the draft moving forward and gives them the flexibility they need. 

Making this trade gives them 18 draft picks through the 2027 NBA Draft and over the next three drafts, gives them 9 draft picks in total. All of these picks give the Bulls what they need to continue building their team of the future and give them the potential to possibly trade for another All-Star caliber talent. 

It may hurt them in the short term trading away a guy like Zach LaVine, but there are a lot of positives Chicago can take away from this trade with the Pelicans.