The New York Knicks had their best postseason run in decades before being eliminated by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. With a ton of talent on the roster and draft picks in their arsenal, the Knicks are primed to make a big splash this offseason to pair next to Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. LaVine’s name has been linked to the Knicks since the last trade deadline. Typically, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Luckily for the Bulls, New York is the perfect trade partner to kickstart their eventual rebuild.
Arturas Karnisovas set the franchise back by giving up several first-round picks to acquire Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan. He also gave up a second-round pick when the NBA found him guilty of tampering after signing Lonzo Ball in 2021. If the Bulls decide to trade Zach LaVine, which seems inevitable, their core focus will be to acquire young players and draft assets, per KC Johnson from NBC Sports Chicago.
Zach LaVine to the New York Knicks Trade Idea:
The Bulls Trade: Zach LaVine
The Knicks Trade: RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, 3 2024 first-round picks
For the Knicks, they give up a bit of their young core for a player who can easily score 30 points on any given night. RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin have been a bit of a disappointment so far in their careers, so trading either of those players wouldn’t impact the Knicks’ immediate future. The Knicks could sell their fanbase on a legitimate Big 3 of Jalen Brunson, Zach LaVine, and Julius Randle, all capable of making the All-Star team when healthy.
The Bulls would be getting an arsenal of first-round picks. Arturas Karnisovas hasn’t proved he has a good skillet of finding talent in the draft besides Ayo Dosunmu. RJ Barrett is only 23 years old and averaged nearly 20 points per game while shooting an abysmal 31% from the three-point range. If Barrett could find himself in a more significant role in Chicago and improve his jump shot, the Bulls could have a 25-points-per-game talent. This might not be the package the Bulls hoped they would get for Zach LaVine, given what the Wolves gave up for Rudy Gobert or what the Cavaliers gave up for Donovan Mitchell. However, the Bulls are in no position to get picky after missing the playoffs with a relatively healthy team excluding Lonzo Ball.
This trade doesn’t move me tbh. Not sure how much Barrett is making & admittedly I don’t know much about Quickley. The picks are cool, but only when there are good to great players to be selected. Scoot Henderson is LEGIT. I’d be inclined to do whatever it took to get that guy
its crazy the difference in trades between sports. the nfl equivelent of lavine would get maybe 1 first round pick
Ok so why is he still on the team
excluding