The Chicago Bulls completed their first trade before Thursday’s deadline by completing a 3-team blockbuster deal.
The Bulls traded away fan favorite Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings and are fully embracing a full-scale rebuild.
Trading away LaVine now paves the way for the Bulls to continue to make more moves before Thursday’s deadline.
The Chicago Bulls trade away their star
The Bulls fully embraced a rebuilding season for the second half of this season after completing this blockbuster trade. Head Coach Billy Donovan will now have to distribute Lavine’s 34.1 minutes to the rest of the roster and the incoming guys.
In the trade between the Bulls, the Sacramento Kings, and the San Antonio Spurs, the Bulls sent fan favorite LaVine to the Spurs, while the Bulls received a decent haul back, per Shams Charania and K.C. Johnson.
“BREAKING: Sacramento is finalizing a trade to send De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a multi-team trade that moves Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine to the Kings, sources tell ESPN.”
BREAKING: Sacramento is finalizing a trade to send De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a multi-team trade that moves Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine to the Kings, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Ftmo8N4hMj
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2025
“Confirmed that Bulls are getting Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins, and Tre Jones and keeping their 2025 first-round pick that was owed to Spurs with top-10 protection. Zach LaVine to Sacramento, where he reunites with DeMar DeRozan and once signed offer sheet in 2018.”
Confirmed that Bulls are getting Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins and Tre Jones and keeping their 2025 first-round pick that was owed to Spurs with top-10 protection. Zach LaVine to Sacramento, where he reunites with DeMar DeRozan and once signed offer sheet in 2018.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 3, 2025
LaVine this season was the Bull’s best offensive player, leading the team in scoring with 24 points. LaVine also averaged 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and almost a steal a game in 34.1 minutes.
The haul back
The Bulls made out well for what they got back for LaVine, receiving guards Jones and Huerter and forward Collins, who should see an increase in their minutes with the Bulls. The Bulls get to keep their top ten pick, which should help in their rebuild.
Jones is a 25-year-old point guard from Duke who is entering his fourth season in the league. The Minnesota native played in 28 games for the Spurs this season, where he averaged 16.1 minutes and had 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
Jones was solid for the Spurs off the bench last month, averaging 15.5 minutes with 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. Jones should be a solid backup facilitator to Josh Giddey and Coby White and provide valuable minutes off the bench.
Collins, a 27-year-old out of Gonzaga, was picked 10th overall by the Spurs in the 2017 NBA Draft. Collins has been a decent big man off the bench this season and should provide the Bulls with the same production. A native of Las Vegas, Collins has played in 36 games where he’s averaged 11.8 minutes, 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. Collins showed he can hit the three ball from time to time, with having a 30.4% percentage from behind the arc this season.
The one issue for Collins coming over to the Bulls is, will he end up taking minutes away from Matas Buzelis and Patrick Williams? Both Williams and Buzelis have settled into their roles with Williams coming in with the reserves and Buzelis as the sixth man.
Huerter is the most intriguing player in the deal with the 6-7 shooting guard offering more of an offensive upside. The Maryland product has appeared in 43 games for the Kings this season where he averaged 20.9 minutes. In those 20.9 minutes, Huerter scored 7.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 steals a game.
Huerter should see the same amount of minutes with possibly getting some starts depending on matchups. The Bull’s current option at shooting guard is the 25-year-old Ayo Dosunmu who is having a solid offensive season.
The Bulls are entering a full-scale rebuild
With LaVine off the board, the Bulls are signaling their intentions to enter a full-scale rebuild.
The Bulls still will be active on the trade market while still having assets to trade like Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball drawing the most interest.
The Bulls are also looking to either trade or waive forward Torrey Craig and guard Chris Duarte if they can’t find a suitor.
With Thursday’s deadline fast approaching the Bulls still have a clear path to get more future draft picks and players to pair with a nice young core they have forming.
Chicago Bulls fans upset with returns for Zach LaVine trade
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