Trade Rumor: Bulls Star Zach LaVine 'Has Fans' in Mavs Front Office

The Dallas Mavericks continue to be linked as a possible trade suitor for Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine.

Luka Doncic is coming off a historical performance with 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. It was the latest explosive outing in part of a transcendent campaign. However, the Dallas Mavericks still have just a 19-16 record on the season. 

Much of the conversation regarding the Mavs tends to gravitate toward Doncic's individual excellence, but the lack of a sufficient supporting cast to contend for a title. There isn't a player with an All-Star nod who isn't past their prime receiving consistent minutes for Dallas. In a star-driven league, there is a need for a co-star of some sort. 

Among the many hypothetical names that could emerge on the trade block in the near future is Zach LaVine. With the Chicago Bulls getting off to just a 14-19 start to the season, their title contention aspirations appear to be out of the picture. With that being said, is it time to blow it up?

There were questions surrounding LaVine's relationship with the Bulls before he signed a five-year, $215,2 million contract in the offseason. Given his history of knee issues, there was some degree of hesitancy to agree to such a robust deal.  

LaVine's efficiency has declined over each of the last three seasons since he averaged 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 2020-21 to earn his first All-Star appearance. A decline in production isn't encouraging for a player who is only 27 and has an injury history. Could the Bulls look to trade him before it gets too deep into the contract? 

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon during a recent episode of the Lowe Post podcast, there are some fans of LaVine's in the Mavs front office. While it's not "some great consensus" of an opinion, he wouldn't "rule it out."

“I just know that there are fans of him that hold prominent positions within the Mavericks,”  “Again, I’m not sitting here and telling you there’s some great consensus. I think there’s enough fans of him where I wouldn’t totally rule it out.”

There are lot of layers to unpack when evaluating the mechanics of a trade for the Mavs to land LaVine. It remains to be seen which players would be appealing to the Bulls given many of Dallas' contracts have negative value and lack upside. 

It would make little sense for the Bulls to actively get older when parting with LaVine in a trade, especially for contracts with two additional years left like Tim Hardaway Jr. or Davis Bertans. Spencer Dinwiddie has revamped his value since last year's midseason trade deadline, but unless the Bulls sought to remain competitive, he wouldn't be a great option either. 

A talent like Christian Wood could perhaps be the Mavs' best option to include in a blockbuster trade since he is on an expiring deal and he has intriguing talent. However, he would become trade ineligible if he were to reach a contract extension agreement on any deal outside of a two-year deal with five-percent raises, similar to what Bojan Bogdanovic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope recently signed. 

In terms of draft compensation, there would need to be a reasonable middle ground considering the risk that comes with LaVine's injury history. He has never earned an All-NBA nomination either. Is he the caliber of talent that should command a massive trade haul? Could the Mavs include more future assets in order to entice the Bulls to take on negative value contracts? Again, there'd be a lot to sort out. 

Another issue the Mavs could encounter is the competitive landscape for the next star trade. There are desperate teams like the Los Angeles Lakers that could part with future draft capital to be the team to acquire LaVine without making an offer that requires taking on future salary. 

For now, the challenges of balancing potentially not getting a contract extension agreement done with Wood ahead of free agency along with the desire to make a splash trade is emblematic to what the Mavs faced with Jalen Brunson. 

The goal surely was to keep Brunson trade eligible ahead of last year's midseason deadline, then leave the option open for a four-year, $55 million contract extension after the fact in the event of a big trade not transpiring. No major deal did occur, but by then, Brunson had strongly outplayed that offer. This is the current balancing act the team faces with Wood. 

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