Things are looking up: Bulls have enjoyed a best-case scenario with LaVine this season
The Bulls are still figuring out which direction they're headed, but at least one dream has come true for this holiday season.
They've brought Zach LaVine back to being a positive figure, as if last season never happened.
Remember, a year ago at this time, it seemed like the Bulls would have little choice but try to trade the two-time all-star for whatever they could get. Maybe they tried.
Heading into Monday's game against Milwaukee, LaVine was averaging 22.0 points per game and shooting a career-high 44.4% from 3-point range.
He was probably playing better at the tail end of the 2022-23 season, and he's well behind his career-high scoring average of 27.4 points. But all things considered, this is a positive development for the Bulls.
At the start of last season, the Bulls appeared to be an unhappy, defeated squad. They started 5-14, and looked even worse once a trade rumor featuring LaVine appeared on Twitter. When LaVine went out with an injury, the Bulls immediately started winning and he eventually had foot surgery, playing in just 25 games.
Between the injury and maximum-salary contract, trading LaVine was virtually impossible. Not to mention, every general manager in the league surely noticed how the Bulls played better without him.
Credit to both sides, though. LaVine came back this season feeling healthy and carrying a positive attitude. The Bulls knew a trade wasn't realistic, so they didn't burn bridges and were willing to get behind a fresh start.
Most fans probably don't like where the Bulls stand right now. At the moment, they've headed for a third straight play-in tournament, and barring extreme lottery lock, will have to send their 2025 first-round pick to San Antonio, as a remnant of the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade.
DeRozan's departure obviously created more opportunities for those who stayed, since the former leading scorer took his 17 shots per game to Sacramento. Besides LaVine, center Nikola Vucevic is also enjoying the best 3-point shooting of his career.
LaVine delivered arguably his best game of the season with an efficient 36 points in a victory at Boston last Thursday. The Bulls weren't quite ready for Jayson Tatum's revenge two nights later at the United Center. That's been a problem for the Bulls in general, needing their best players to bring their A-game every night.
LaVine has had some amazing signature stat lines over the years. There was the 49 points and game-winning 3-pointer at Charlotte in 2019, the 30-point second half against Toronto in the play-in tournament. It would be nice to see that sort of performance more than once every four years.
Another unknown here is whether LaVine's camp is still pushing for a trade. The guess here is probably not. The Bulls gave him the massive contract he wanted in 2022, so might as well try to live up to it. And he's got to play well for there to be any chance of a trade.
A recent rumor had Denver offering Michael Porter Jr. and a second player for LaVine. First of all, it's great to see LaVine has trade value once again. That particular deal doesn't make much sense for the Bulls, though.
Porter has two years left on his contract, same as LaVine. Porter's contract is slightly smaller, but not enough to create any real roster flexibility for the Bulls.
Denver would need to add some sweetener for that deal to benefit the Bulls, and the Nuggets don't have a first-round draft pick to trade until 2031. If Denver wants to throw in Christian Braun, the Bulls should accept, but that would likely require a larger trade with the Bulls including other pieces.