The Bulls don't want to trade with the Lakers because of LeBron James

For years, the Los Angeles Lakers have been after some Chicago Bulls stars. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Alex Caruso were all rumored targets for the Purple and Gold.

However, the Bulls have never been very active in trades, and especially not with the Lakers. According to NBA insider Eric Pincus, that’s not particularly a coincidence.

In his latest talk with Jovan Buha, the insider claimed that the Chicago Bulls have purposely refused to engage in trade talks with the Lakers because of LeBron James.

The Bulls Don’t Want To Help LeBron’s Legacy

“In this industry you, you have to make the best decision for you as a team but people are petty and make stupid decisions all the time that like aren’t what’s best for you,” Pincus said. “Fans clamor for Alex Caruso right like for years. Like they should have gotten Drummond and Caruso. I’m like go look at like the transaction logs of Lakers-Chicago like they don’t make trades together. Last one was like during when the Lakers were rebuilding and were terrible.”

DeMar DeRozan

Pincus later called it as it was, stating that the Bulls ownership simply doesn’t want to help LeBron find more success, as it could hamper Michael Jordan’s legacy:

“The Bulls dumped like an older point guard, a Spanish point guard on them and I forget which one it was. It was a marriage of convenience that helped the Bulls like,” added Pincus. “I think their owner doesn’t want LeBron infringing upon like Michael [Jordan’s] legacy. They’re just not going to help LeBron [James].”

see also

LeBron James has taken a weird approach to the Lakers" coaching search

As petty as it may seem, it actually makes sense. However, perhaps the best way to honor Jordan’s legacy would be to spend some money and make moves to get a competitive team, but that’s a story for another day.