The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner, and trade rumors are starting to fly. Bulls’ Alex Caruso said he doesn’t listen to the trade rumors.
Zach LaVine, if made available for trade by the Chicago Bulls, "would have no shortage of suitors," including the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.
The notable basketball writer also mentioned the Portland Trailblazers' past infatuation with the Bulls' guard, along with the Atlanta Hawks – before they landed Dejounte Murray – as secondary landing spots.
LaVine, 27, is in the midst of his first year under a freshly penned five-year, $215 max extension he signed with the Bulls this past offseason.
He started the season gingerly, sitting out games the second of back-to-back games while continuing to rehab the knee he received arthroscopic surgery on during the offseason.
Through 46 games this season, however, LaVine is averaging a healthy 23.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from beyond the arc.
He's also been the center of frustrations from the team, as well as submitting his own. According to NBC Sports Chicago's K.C. Johnson, the team expressed some dismay with him at halftime of the Bulls-Timberwolves contest that saw them give up 150 points in a loss.
MORE: Bulls had strong exchange at halftime of loss to Wolves
NBA
After the halftime debacle, reports from The Athletic indicated LaVine has had one-on-one meetings with DeRozan to work out the duo's issues. The report also wrote LaVine and the Bulls are not seeing eye-to-eye.
Artūras Karnišovas has continuously voted on the side of "continuity," a word he's preached since the start of this season when referring to his core players. Yet, as Johnson wrote in his mailbag, Karnisovas "is known around the league as an executive who keeps business very quiet."
Will the Bulls opt to trade pieces of their core, including a deal to send their coveted star elsewhere?
As Fischer's report indicated, the Bulls have shoppers for LaVine, but their insistence on holding the glue together on the current roster seemingly blocks off the possibility.
Click here to follow the Bulls Talk Podcast.
