Could a Zach LaVine trade to the Chicago Bulls require a third team to be a viable deal for all parties? If so, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey has one in mind to do the trick. The swap he has in mind would also involve the Oklahoma City Thunder, and involve Chicago sending out LaVine and Andre Drummond, and getting back D’Angelo Russell, Davis Bertans, Jalen Hood-Schifino. It would also net two first round picks and a second rounder.
The Thunder would get Drummond and Rui Hachimura, and the Lakers LaVine and Aaron Wiggins from OKC — got all that? “Russell and Bertans are essentially salary filler,” explains Bailey. “The former has a player option for next season, but he could possibly be flipped in another deal.”
“And even if he can’t, a contract expiring at $18.7 million next season is far more manageable than LaVine’s, which has a $49 million player option in 2026-27. Bertans, meanwhile, is under contract for next season, but only $5.3 million is guaranteed,” adds the B/R analyst.
Should Chicago's Jevon Carter be a Los Angeles Lakers trade target? https://t.co/hfqQryaGEq pic.twitter.com/8FYELf74Er
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“Hood-Schifino probably has the best chance to stick around Chicago beyond 2024-25,” writes Bailey. “While he hasn’t really had any flashes of rotation-player upside with the Lakers, he’s only 20 years old and has good size … for a guard.”
The author notes that “this deal is mostly about the draft compensation for Chicago,” and we agree. Such trades are hard to pull off in reality, But Bailey put in work trying to make this make sense for all parties. It might be too much for the Thunder, but their rebounding concerns are real, and the cost is not absurd here to address it.
