The national forecast called for trade clouds last week.
Locally, those clouds have been mentioned since the start of the Bulls’ season.
Call it playing catch-up.
Several national reports surfaced recently that suggested the Bulls have become even more aggressive in their efforts to trade Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic or Lonzo Ball, but a source said all that really has changed is that they are starting to look at a more realistic asking price.
What hasn’t changed is that they won’t attach first-round assets in a package to move LaVine and that the market for him is still slow.
Because of the talent at the top of the 2025 draft class — starting with Duke’s Cooper Flagg — a growing number of teams in the middle and bottom of the league aggressively will be looking to deal assets as the trade deadline Feb. 6 approaches.
So while LaVine and Vucevic have improved their stock with their play this season, they are standing in a pecking order. One insider thinks that once the Pelicans show their hand with what they want to do with forward Brandon Ingram, the rest of the puzzle pieces might start falling into place.
Ingram is in the final season of a deal that is paying him $36 million this season. And even though it can be argued that LaVine and Vucevic are playing at a higher level right now, they also have more guaranteed money left on their deal.
Vucevic is making $20 million this season and is scheduled to make $21 million next season before his deal comes off the books. LaVine is at $43 million this season and is guaranteed $46 million next season and has a player option worth $49 million for the 2026-27 season. That’s why playoff contenders first will focus on Ingram.
If that domino falls, that’s when things will get interesting for Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
Realistically, there’s a good chance Karnisovas will have to wait until the summer to try to trade LaVine. But Vucevic’s play this season likely can bring the Bulls multiple second-round picks and an expiring contract to counter the money he is owed.
If Ball can show he can handle the minutes off the bench — he went through a full practice Sunday after playing a season-high 22 minutes Friday — he’ll warrant a second-round pick, too.
Karnisovas had a chance to land second-round picks last season if he would have agreed to trade backup big man Andre Drummond, but he made the ill-fated decision to try to make a playoff push instead.
Drummond ended up leaving in free agency in July and signed with the 76ers, the team that was offering Karnisovas the second-round picks. Lesson learned — hopefully.
Karnisovas made his name with the Nuggets, who drafted center Nikola Jokic in the second round (41st overall) in 2014. Since joining the Bulls, he has landed Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips in the second round. Why not collect more such picks?
One intriguing thing to consider is whether the Bulls would part with a package that includes Coby White, Dosunmu and/or Patrick Williams if it means getting first-round picks in 2025 or even 2026.
While the 2025 draft class is the mother lode, don’t sleep on 2026. Forward AJ Dybantsa reclassified, so he might be the No. 1 pick in that class, followed closely by Cameron Boozer — son of former Bulls forward Carlos Boozer — and guard Darryn Peterson.
