Chicago Bulls Receive: G Russell Westbrook, 2026 First-Round Pick (Swap – LAL), 2027 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2028 First-Round Pick (Swap – LAL), 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL) 

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G Zach LaVine

Of course, owning a first-round pick in the upcoming draft makes tanking much more desirable. 

It’s also made it a hot-button topic recently. After all, the upcoming draft class has limitless potential. Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson are the headliners, but this class is filled with prospects who could change an NBA franchise. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are not likely to pursue any of them. After all, they don’t own a first-round pick in the draft.

Moreover, with an aging roster, they don’t have the pieces in place to begin a rebuild. In all likelihood, they’ll be as competitive as possible in 2022-23. 

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls & Los Angeles Lakers Updates

The Chicago Bulls are in a similar boat. They owe their first-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Orlando Magic. At the same time, there are enough talented young players on this team that they could justify looking forwards to the future. 

Should this package inspire them to do so?