Zach trade thread #2

[WindyCityBorn]

According to KC Zach will out for at least another week. The timing shockingly coincides with the trade deadline.

Do you guys think he’s actually hurt or did he and the Bulls agree for him to sit out?

There is no reason to sit him out. The bulls mouthpieces like KC Johnson have already let it be known to not expect any blockbuster moves.

[WindyCityBorn]

You really think so? I think he just wants to keep his family and life in LA at this point. Winning another title would be great I'm sure, but I feel he's about his brand and post-NBA life at this point. Chasing another title would be a bad look for him given his track record, lmao.

Winning a championship at 39 or 40 while still playing at a very high level, even if done through ring-chasing, would never be a "bad look" for his legacy.

Yeah, based on LeBron's play this year, he'd still be a critical piece on any championship team. It wouldn't be end of career Gary Payton with the Heat or anything barely hanging on.

Well Rich Paul just shut it down. So I guess he will remain a Laker through this season at minimum.

[WindyCityBorn]

This is about attaching assets to Lavine not getting assets in return.

yeah exactly, duh.

Zach's value is still a salary dump right now.

Which is why he won’t be traded. One of the few things our front office is doing right recently. His play in the 20 or so games he has played is no where near indicative of his talent. Unless he stays perpetually injured going forward he will return to form.

[Red8911]

According to KC Zach will out for at least another week. The timing shockingly coincides with the trade deadline.

Do you guys think he’s actually hurt or did he and the Bulls agree for him to sit out?

There is no reason to sit him out. The bulls mouthpieces like KC Johnson have already let it be known to not expect any blockbuster moves.

We just don’t know for sure yet. It could also be a strategy from the Bulls to make it seem like they aren’t desperate to trade Zach in order to get a better deal on the table.

Even if it’s not what KC is doing then all hes doing is reporting what’s currently happening which is not close to a trade. However the last few days before the deadline is the time where teams pick up talks the most, things can change.

The main reason to sit him is to prevent a serious injury. There would be no negotiations or a deal if Zach gets injured. Therefore this is playing it safe. Value wise nothing will change now anyway whether he plays or not.

[Muzbar]

I've said it for weeks now, Zach isn't going anywhere, nobody wants that contract, especially if the Bulls have an unrealistic asking price.

It was never a question about Zach's talent, moreso the amount of money he's being paid and his injury problems.

I will be very surprised if Zach LaVine is playing for another team after the deadline. He's here for the duration of his contract unless they salary dump him (something I'm not completely against).

[weneeda2guard]

If all we can do is salary dump lavine, then the best bet is to just sit on him until circumstances change. Maybe we see what team fails in the playoffs and maybe another star wants to move on. Lavine salary could be the asset that facilitate that. Or maybe a losing teams wants to add some legit talent. We just need to wait.

At worst you get lavine back a guy that can still give you 25 , 5 and 5. Maybe we play him off the bench idk. But what we can't do is just dump him take trash players back and possibly add salary. For what a couple 2nd rd picks or a 1st that ain't worth much?

[WindyCityBorn]

If all we can do is salary dump lavine, then the best bet is to just sit on him until circumstances change. Maybe we see what team fails in the playoffs and maybe another star wants to move on. Lavine salary could be the asset that facilitate that. Or maybe a losing teams wants to add some legit talent. We just need to wait.

At worst you get lavine back a guy that can still give you 25 , 5 and 5. Maybe we play him off the bench idk. But what we can't do is just dump him take trash players back and possibly add salary. For what a couple 2nd rd picks or a 1st that ain't worth much?

Who exactly would be pushing him to the bench?

[pipfan]

I am thinking we need to trade DDR and keep Lavine for the rest of this year-get his value up (hopefully) and trade him at the draft

DDR for MMorris/Covington/'26 1st

CWhite/Ayo/Carter
Lavine/Caruso/Ayo
PWill/Caruso/Terry
Covington/Craig/Phillips
Vuc/Drummond/MMorris

Better defense, for sure, plus we get a look at PWill at the 3 the rest of the year

[dougthonus]

I've said it for weeks now, Zach isn't going anywhere, nobody wants that contract, especially if the Bulls have an unrealistic asking price.

It was never a question about Zach's talent, moreso the amount of money he's being paid and his injury problems.

We'll never know, but I think it's more about the fact that over the previous 3 years combined he was a 24ppg three level scorer with great efficiency and this year's his scoring his way down and his efficiency plummeted.

Now he's like Vuc. He's an offensive only player that doesn't give you efficient offense. There's a lot more reason to think Zach will bounce back, but the drop in performance is what is killing his trade value.

[RSP83]

I've said it for weeks now, Zach isn't going anywhere, nobody wants that contract, especially if the Bulls have an unrealistic asking price.

It was never a question about Zach's talent, moreso the amount of money he's being paid and his injury problems.

We'll never know, but I think it's more about the fact that over the previous 3 years combined he was a 24ppg three level scorer with great efficiency and this year's his scoring his way down and his efficiency plummeted.

Now he's like Vuc. He's an offensive only player that doesn't give you efficient offense. There's a lot more reason to think Zach will bounce back, but the drop in performance is what is killing his trade value.

Attach AC to Zach and see what happens.

[dougthonus]

Attach AC to Zach and see what happens.

If I were the Bulls I'd eat Zach's contract before attaching more positive assets to get rid of him. The team isn't going to be good this year or next year regardless. You are better off loading up assets for more into the future and hoping Zach rebounds, and even if he doesn't get back to the same level, if he just plays better and has 2 years left in the summer of 25 that's better for you than trading him now.

[MikeDC]

Attach AC to Zach and see what happens.

If I were the Bulls I'd eat Zach's contract before attaching more positive assets to get rid of him. The team isn't going to be good this year or next year regardless. You are better off loading up assets for more into the future and hoping Zach rebounds, and even if he doesn't get back to the same level, if he just plays better and has 2 years left in the summer of 25 that's better for you than trading him now.

Right. The Bulls are asset poor. If they want to trade AC, then trade him by himself. They’ll get more that way. And more assets not less is the name of the game.

[Jvaughn]

I don't see anyway that Pistons trade is real, but if they are dumb enought o trade Ausar and Ivey, we need to make that happen ASAP. Would be nice to get Stewart as well, but that's just greedy.

[sco]

I am thinking we need to trade DDR and keep Lavine for the rest of this year-get his value up (hopefully) and trade him at the draft

DDR for MMorris/Covington/'26 1st

CWhite/Ayo/Carter
Lavine/Caruso/Ayo
PWill/Caruso/Terry
Covington/Craig/Phillips
Vuc/Drummond/MMorris

Better defense, for sure, plus we get a look at PWill at the 3 the rest of the year

I'm with you. I love DDR's leadership/development, but if we come away with a positive young asset for him, I'm on board.

Coby, Zach, AC, Pat, Vuc might be our best bet line-up since we're stuck with Vuc for this/next season at least.

[Andi Obst]

I don't see anyway that Pistons trade is real, but if they are dumb enought o trade Ausar and Ivey, we need to make that happen ASAP. Would be nice to get Stewart as well, but that's just greedy.

Latest reporting I've seen was that the Pistons are hesitant to put Bogdanovic in a deal for Zach, so yeah...the Bulls are not getting Ivey or Ausar.

If anything, it's probably going to be Bogdanovic + Harris for Zach. I'd definitely do that at this point, but I'm sure the Bulls won't.

[RSP83]

Attach AC to Zach and see what happens.

If I were the Bulls I'd eat Zach's contract before attaching more positive assets to get rid of him. The team isn't going to be good this year or next year regardless. You are better off loading up assets for more into the future and hoping Zach rebounds, and even if he doesn't get back to the same level, if he just plays better and has 2 years left in the summer of 25 that's better for you than trading him now.

Right. The Bulls are asset poor. If they want to trade AC, then trade him by himself. They’ll get more that way. And more assets not less is the name of the game.

Make sense. The more frustrating thing for me is Demar's status. I'm all for keeping Zach until the right trade comes along, but I don't like having both Demar and Zach on this team. If we're keeping Zach, please trade Demar. I mean we should be moving away from Demar anyway. Either let him walk in the summer or trade him now.

[ChettheJet]

With all the low ball talk about Zach I think the way he moves at the deadline is in a 3 probably 4 team trade. His big contract goes to a team that wants to soften the PR blow of getting him by shipping out 2 unimportant bench guys to one team, a overpaid vet to another and the Buklls and other 2 teams shuffle out guys they don't want. It's not a deal where any contenders get that key missing title run piece, just some mid pack teams who have or will get a new coach this year or over the summer look like they're making significant changes and not just filling in new faces for the next season.

The Bulls end up with with some rookie contract guys who haven't worked out, a vet on a 2 year deal to reduce the years and money for them and they either move Caruso and/or DeRozan or not and see what kind of Vuc deal comes in the summer

[MikeDC]

If I were the Bulls I'd eat Zach's contract before attaching more positive assets to get rid of him. The team isn't going to be good this year or next year regardless. You are better off loading up assets for more into the future and hoping Zach rebounds, and even if he doesn't get back to the same level, if he just plays better and has 2 years left in the summer of 25 that's better for you than trading him now.

Right. The Bulls are asset poor. If they want to trade AC, then trade him by himself. They’ll get more that way. And more assets not less is the name of the game.

Make sense. The more frustrating thing for me is Demar's status. I'm all for keeping Zach until the right trade comes along, but I don't like having both Demar and Zach on this team. If we're keeping Zach, please trade Demar. I mean we should be moving away from Demar anyway. Either let him walk in the summer or trade him now.

Yeah. I know lots of folks believe that, but I don’t find the arguments you guys make convincing at all and I’m not going to dive in to them here. Keeping or trading DeMar is completely irrelevant to the discussion of Zach.

[dougthonus]

Yeah. I know lots of folks believe that, but I don’t find the arguments you guys make convincing at all and I’m not going to dive in to them here. Keeping or trading DeMar is completely irrelevant to the discussion of Zach.

I don't think Zach's status is all that relevant to DeMar, but I do think that you should be trading DeMar if there is any value out there for him. If he's just sitting at 2nd rounder status, then on well, keep him to see if you can do better/make the play in.

[burlydee]

The Bulls absolutely should trade Demar and it 100% affects Zach. The best way for Zack to regain value is by going back to at least a #2 option for the Bulls. That won't happen with Demar and Coby, and Coby isn't going anywhere.

I'd take a high 2nd for Demar. The Bulls are going nowhere.