It’s easy to make assumptions about what Arturas Karnisovas will do once he has full control of the roster this offseason. Yet the reality is nobody has a clue what the new Chicago Bears VP of Basketball Operations has planned. It would be unwise to call anybody on this roster safe at this juncture. If only because the team has been losing consistently with those who are on it. Could that include Zach Lavine?
Now Karnisovas has spoken highly of the shooting guard after his strong 2019-2020 season in which he averaged a career-high 25 points per game. Six times he topped 40 points in a game including 49 in a wild comeback win over the Charlotte Hornets. While most see the 25-year old as a block worth building around, a new front office might see things differently. They could see him as a valuable trade commodity.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report believes that one team that makes perfect sense for him is the Philadelphia 76ers. Here’s the proposed deal.
“Philadelphia 76ers receive: Zach LaVine
Chicago Bulls receive: Josh Richardson, Matisse Thybulle, Mike Scott, 2020 second-round pick (via New York Knicks)
…The Bulls deal away the most talented player in this exchange, but the new front office may not see LaVine as the most valuable. His offensive production rings a bit hollow because it has never been attached to team success, and he’s by no means cheap ($39 million over the next two seasons).
If Chicago deems him expendable, this trade might do the trick. Richardson fits with anyone as a three-and-D swingman, and Thybulle is on a short list of the league’s best young defenders. Add an early second-rounder to the pile, and the Bulls leave the deal with three assets in hand.”
Is Zach Lavine not worth a 1st round pick?
Given where the Bulls are at, it’s hard to imagine Karnisovas would consider trading his best player with full knowledge he wouldn’t be getting a 1st round pick back in any sort of deal. This proposal with Philadelphia doesn’t accomplish that, or anything else for a rebuilding team. It provides no 1st rounder and also doesn’t give them much in the way of salary cap relief. Less than $2 million to be exact.
Now Richardson struggled a bit this past season with the 76ers, but he looked like an emerging stud in 2018-2019 with the Miami Heat. A season where he averaged 16.6 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also had a healthy 2.6 defensive win shares rating. That was 5th-best among guards in the entire NBA. So he’s a solid, well-rounded player. Thybulle averaged just 19.5 minutes per game off the bench but still managed a strong 1.8 defensive win share rating. So these two would definitely improve the Bulls’ rough defensive play.
At what cost though? Their offense would take a major hit with Lavine gone. Perhaps they could reconfigure things around Coby White and Lauri Markkanen but with no additional draft capital or cap space, it’s hard to see how this trade helps the team.