Zach LaVine isn’t denying the rumors anymore.
For the last three years, LaVine has been quick to shut down any talk of a move away from the Chicago Bulls. But a day after a report by The Athletic suggested mutual interest in pursuing a trade, LaVine on Wednesday didn’t clear the smoke while speaking with reporters at a shootaround at the Advocate Center.
LaVine did not outright answer whether he requested a trade. But he made it clear that frustration with a lack of winning has reached a new level. The Bulls lost to the Orlando Magic 96-94 on Wednesday at the United Center, despite LaVine’s last-minute shooting heroics, dropping their record to 4-8.
“My camp talks to (the front office) all the time,” LaVine said. “It’s not like we’re not in a good relationship or a good talking space. We understand the business of basketball — I do more than most people. People talk. I’ve been in trade talks for a long time, so I understand the situation, but once news is always broken it’s a big thing. It’s not like it will be the first or the last time it’s going to happen with my name. As of right now, I’m excited to still put this jersey on and go out here and play, try and get this win tonight.”
This has been a long time coming. LaVine’s name has been tossed into trade conversations throughout the last three seasons as the Bulls struggled and stumbled through an attempted rebuild around the guard, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic.
It isn’t working. LaVine entered this season aware that the roster would be dismantled at some point if that central trio couldn’t right the ship.
But for the Bulls, the certainty of an impending change only creates more questions: Who will stay? Who’s worth trading? And is this the end of LaVine’s tenure in Chicago?
Since acquiring him in June 2017, the Bulls have spent six-plus seasons attempting to mold LaVine into a central star who could lift the team back into playoff contention annually. In some ways, he has delivered on that promise. He’s a two-time All-Star and the team’s leading scorer.
On his best nights, LaVine is undeniable, the type of quick-twitch playmaker who can transform any offense. But the playoff payoff hasn’t followed. LaVine has participated in only six postseason games — four in the 2022 playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, then a demoralizing crash landing from last season’s play-in tournament when LaVine went scoreless in the fourth quarter of a collapse against the Miami Heat.
The Bulls have remained intent in their focus on LaVine, signing him to a five-year, $215 million maximum extension in July 2022. He remains their greatest feature — both on the court and as a trade asset — even as the Bulls struggle.
But after a rough start this season, faith in the future of this project clearly is beginning to wane.
LaVine kept his comments relatively brief Wednesday, voicing frustration with the team’s subpar start. But he didn’t express outright dissatisfaction with the Bulls or the front office.
“I’ve been supported in Chicago for a long time,” LaVine said. “I’ve been here for seven years now and never not been supported. Love my time here in Chicago, always loved being a Bull, and that hasn’t changed.”
Still, it’s obvious LaVine and the Bulls are nearing a breaking point — a threshold the guard knew was fast-approaching when he entered the season.
LaVine spent Tuesday night sitting courtside at the United Center with his agent, Rich Paul, for the Champions Classic, which included four of the top college programs in the country and drew front-office members from throughout the NBA. That relationship will be critical as LaVine attempts to navigate his future
“That’s why I have representatives like Rich Paul,” LaVine said. “If he speaks on my behalf … — that’s who I obviously have my camp with. They talk to (executive vice president of basketball operations) Arturas (Karni ovas) and them. My job is to go out here and play, simple as that.”
In the meantime, LaVine said he’s not worried about how the locker room will handle growing chatter about a potential restructuring of the roster.
“This is a business, man,” LaVine said. “We’ve dealt with a lot more than people talking in the media. There’s been a lot more than that. Obviously there was some news in the media. But we’re grown men. We’re a professional business. We know how to handle that.”
But that doesn’t necessarily bode well for what’s left on the court. In the preseason, Karni ovas said the team felt a lack of connection defined their losses last season.
If the face of the franchise is ready to leave, the Bulls need to prepare for a massive shift in the coming months.
