UCLA Men’s Basketball: All-Star Ex-Bruin Likely To Be Traded If Team Falters

He'd be a sought-after commodity.

As a member of the Bulls since 2017, former Bruin Zach Lavine has enjoyed a solid career in the Windy City. 

In the 2020-2021 season, LaVine recorded 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on elite 50.7/41.9/84.9 splits en route to his first of two back-to-back All-Star appearances. 

Alongside LaVine's individual success, he's battled nagging injuries for much of his career and has struggled to improve in areas beyond scoring. Subsequently, he's never flourished into the true No. 1 option that he was expected to potentially become, and as a result, has struggled to get Chicago past the first round. 

LaVine (14) as a Bruin

The team has been in purgatory for the past few seasons, being too good to get a high draft pick but not good enough to make any noise or be a top seed in the postseason. 

For this reason, the Bulls have found themselves potentially looking toward a rebuild, and LaVine would be one of the first players on the chopping block in that event. 

Sam Amico of Hoops Wire said LaVine "could become available by February or sooner, depending on how the Bulls are performing leading up to the deadline."

Amico specifically uses a benchmark of proximity to a .500 record, as if the team is worse than that, it sounds like LaVine will certainly be shopped. If they're better than that, the odds favor that they keep him. 

All this said, for them to properly move off of him, they'd need to find a suitable buyer willing to give up a pretty significant package. LaVine is an efficient 25-points-per-game scorer and would likely demand a return that includes one potential All-Star-level young player and a couple of draft picks. 

It's a storyline to keep an eye out for, as LaVine being moved could potentially shake up either conference and thread the needle for his new team.

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