CHICAGO — With Thursday’s NBA trade deadline looming, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine tries to keep the mood around the team loose.
“As players, you talk about it all the time. You joke with it, messing around,” LaVine said with a smile at shootaround before Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “It’s good to see how players react to it, but we keep it light here.”
LaVine, who was traded at 22 years old and has had his name repeatedly kicked around in trade speculation the past few years, learned early on about the business of basketball, so he doesn’t stress too much this time of year.
Yet, the Bulls could be primed for an interesting day once the deadline hits at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
They have been one of the teams most frequently mentioned in trade rumors with connections to players such as New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball and Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond. The Bulls are also reportedly listening to offers for forward Lauri Markkanen, who will be a restricted free agent in the offseason.
It’s the first Bulls trade deadline under the new management regime of VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversely, and after having half a season to evaluate, they could start to put their imprint on this team.
What LaVine doesn’t plan to do is to go to the front office to play GM.
“I’m not looking for a handout or asking for people to get traded,” LaVine said. “I just want to come out here, compete and win games. Obviously, if we can’t do that with this group, I think Arturas and Marc are going to make those decisions, not us.”
The Bulls also have the pieces to potentially pivot and become sellers. In addition to entertaining offers for Markkanen, they have veterans like guard Tomas Satoransky and forwards Otto Porter and Thad Young that could make nice additions for a contender.
But LaVine did make it clear he would prefer for Young to stick around and help the Bulls try to reach the postseason for the first time since 2017.
“We all understand (Young’s) value and how good he is and what a championship or high-rising playoff team could get out of him,” LaVine said. “Obviously, I want him here. He helps me and helps the team tremendously. But if something were to happen you just want the best situation for a guy like that.”
The Bulls, however, haven’t done much to warrant their status as a buyer since the start of the second half.
They are 3-5 since the All-Star break, have blown a pair of double-digit fourth-quarter leads, moved two members of their young core out of the starting lineup and finished a game in overtime without Markkanen and center Wendell Carter, members of their so-called frontcourt of the future.
Yet they still find themselves among a crowded mix of teams in the Eastern Conference, competing for a spot in the play-in tournament. The Bulls entered Wednesday’s game against the Cavs as the No.9 seed, up 2 1/2 games over the fading Toronto Raptors.
“We’ve been beating a lot of those teams, convincingly, and then we have a meltdown in the fourth quarter,” LaVine said. “I don’t think it’s a talent thing for us. I think it’s more mental and us learning how to close out games. We’ve been talking about that the last couple years and still haven’t figured it out. Once we get that right, I think it’ll be a totally different picture to the season.”
