The Chicago Bulls were a major threat out of the Eastern Conference last season, but Lonzo Ball’s injury set them back in a major way. Now, they might end up breaking their roster up before the trade deadline.
The Bulls jeopardized their future by giving up multiple picks to get Nikola Vucevic, who’s been fairly inconsistent and has failed to live up to that value. So, they would be wise to try and recoup some of their Draft capital.
With that in mind, an unnamed GM recently stated that they’re likely to move on from DeMar DeRozan, as Zach LaVine wants to be a franchise player, and that won’t happen for as long as he’s there.
NBA Rumors: Bulls Could Choose Zach LaVine Over DeMar DeRozan
(Transcript via Ryan Anston — Heavy)
“While relations have remained cordial/respectful/friendly (pick your adjective here) between DeRozan and his younger co-star, the GM is certain that the Bulls are going to have to pick a lane sooner rather than later.
‘They get along fine, but it is no secret that LaVine wants to be the alpha there, so if they extend DeRozan, what happens with Zach? If they don’t trade DeRozan and they don’t give him an extension, they could lose him with no return.’
‘[DeRozan] will be 34 at the start of next year. The Bulls will not want to give him four years under any circumstances, and that’s probably where things will end. It is probably going to wind up with them trading him away and bringing back a couple of role players who they feel can help out LaVine.’”
From an age standpoint, it would most definitely make sense to choose LaVine over DeRozan. But whether he’ll want to commit to a rebuilding project rather than playing for a contenderremains to be seen.