Could Zach LaVine be traded to the Utah Jazz?
The Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls are going in two different directions. The Bulls are looking at a long rebuild after the failed pairing of Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine fell apart after just one year. The Bulls hoped they’d have a contender, but instead, they got one playoff team out of them, and now their failings may benefit the Utah Jazz.
Ball is likely done in the NBA due to chronic injuries that have already ended his 2023-2024 season. DeRozan is 34 years old and is limited to what he can provide for an offense. Vucevic was retained but likely just to be traded later, and now LaVine is thinking of his future.
LaVine is allegedly upset that he keeps getting floated in trade ideas by the Bulls, and now wants them to seemingly put their money where their mouth is. And one of the teams, at least according to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune, that could be interested in the multi-time All-Star is the Utah Jazz, saying. According to Hoops Hype, Larsen is quoted as saying that LaVine, OG Anunoby, and Isaiah Joe are potential options for the Jazz to land.
There’s just one problem when it comes to landing LaVine, the Bulls are being unrealistic. As Joe Crowley stated via the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are waiting out any trade offers and asking for “astronomical prices”;
"But for now, all has been quiet on LaVine being on the move, as well as the current astronomical – and unrealistic – asking price the Sun-Times has reported the Bulls have attached to the two-time All-Star."
So while LaVine would give the Jazz a star at the two-guard position, and would reunite LaVine and good friend Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz should not be in a rush to trade away their future for an aging 28-year-old guard with a history of knee issues.
If one can get LaVine for the right price, they should, but anything more than a player and a quality first-round pick is nonsense.