Presentation by National Insurance Agent Jeff Vuckovich
The entire NBA knows the Chicago Bulls are looking to sell two-time All-Star guard Zach LaVine. This has been a topic of discussion for months, maybe even years.
And the longer it goes on, the greater the chance of chaos. Blame may be pointed. Personalities may be attacked through leaks.
It’s a dynamic that LaVine’s agent, Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul, wanted to highlight on Thursday.
“I want to be clear: Any perception that Zach was anything less than professional in this situation is incorrect. He has played through injuries. He has represented this organization with class. A lot has happened during his time with the Bulls, but he has always walked the high road,” Paul said by phone. “Does any player get frustrated at times? Yes, but Zach is the consummate professional and deserves to be treated better.”
“The Bulls have a job to do, and we’re going to let them do their job.”
That deal would be fully rolled out starting in July 2023. At the time, the Bulls had preliminary trade talks centered around LaVine with the Portland Trail Blazers, who employed Damian Lillard, and the Philadelphia 76ers, who employed James Harden. Other trade rumors surrounding LaVine also surfaced at the time.
Just two years ago, LaVine and the Bulls were at the height of their relationship. In July 2022, he was fresh off his second All-Star selection and his first playoff appearance, the Bulls’ first since 2017, and he signed a five-year, $215 million max contract.
In LaVine’s mind, the future was limitless and he seemed unfazed by trade rumors.
Instead, the Bulls suffered a second straight season without making the playoffs, and then, as LaVine and the Bulls struggled to get off to a good start in 2023-24, The Athletic reported that “both sides are increasingly open” to discussing a trade.
This was LaVine’s first opportunity to open the door to a change of scenery, but he never requested a trade. He was focused on overcoming a slow start for himself and the Bulls and on identifying and treating the soreness in his right foot that ultimately required season-ending surgery.
“We went to them and said, ‘We understand the business of basketball, and if we keep playing like this and you guys start asking for changes, let’s work on it together,'” LaVine told NBC Sports Chicago midway through last season. “I’ve never said I want to be traded.”
LaVine returned from an initial extended absence due to a foot injury and helped the Bulls go 5-2 in January, but the pain in his leg persisted, so LaVine and his agent sought an outside medical opinion, a common practice in the NBA.
At the time LaVine opted for the season-ending surgery, the Bulls’ official team statement said: “After consulting with the Chicago Bulls training and medical staff and seeking additional medical opinions, guard Zach LaVine and Klutch Sports Group have selected surgery on LaVine’s right foot as the next step in LaVine’s recovery process.”
That statement, along with rumors that the Detroit Pistons were interested in trading for LaVine, created the false impression that LaVine opted for surgery rather than join the rebuilding Pistons. At the time, multiple league sources suggested that Pistons decision-makers were divided over a LaVine trade and that the Bulls were not close to a deal.
Speaking to a small group of reporters in Los Angeles in March, LaVine addressed the theory that he chose surgery over a trade to the Pistons.
“I definitely didn’t want to have surgery, but the level of pain and what the doctors were telling me led me to the conclusion that this wasn’t going to go away on its own,” LaVine said at the time. “I had a loose bone. It’s known as a non-union Jones fracture, and I’d been struggling with that for a while. And when the doctor — and I’m glad I found him — told me it was best to have this surgery sooner rather than later, I was glad to know that.”
This marks the second time LaVine has played through an injury – he played through arthroscopic surgery on a knee injury in the final year of his contract in 2021-22 as the team was on its way to its first playoff appearance since 2017. At the time, he consistently said he was confident he could contribute if he played at 80 percent strength.
LaVine has endured plenty of hardships in his seven seasons with the Bulls, but he was the face of the franchise during a difficult rebuild from 2017 to 2021. He’s also experienced plenty of joy, both personally and with teammates like Coby White, whom he praised as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player throughout last season.
But the relationship has been looming toward divorce for some time, and the longer he stays with the Bulls the more potential for turmoil becomes.
“I think we have a great relationship with Zach and I think we have a great relationship with his agent, Rich Paul,” Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said after the Bulls’ trade deadline in February. “I think we always work well together and I think he’s always thinking about the team. He wants to win, and when he’s healthy, he wants to win.”
LaVine is now healthy and going through his normal offseason routine, several weeks ahead of the expected four to six months required to return from foot surgery. It remains to be seen where he will play next season.
With Josh Giddey acquired via trade to play alongside White, the Bulls appear poised to set up their backcourt for the future. Between Bulls management and LaVine’s insistence that a change of scenery is in the best interest of all parties, a mutual understanding seems the sensible path forward.
The Bulls have made offers to more than 15 teams over the past few weeks, with the Kings and Warriors showing the most interest, according to league sources, though the latter has since appeared to move in a different direction.
Interested teams will likely want additional assets to take on LaVine’s three-year, $138 million contract, and the longer it takes to resolve this situation, the less value the Bulls will get in return.
With the DeMar DeRozan situation still unresolved, the Bulls have a lot of work to do, and LaVine’s future is the biggest question mark in an offseason that Karnisovas said he will focus on making changes.
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