It’s not the type of power Zach LaVine is necessarily looking to grab.
Now, if the Bulls front office wants to summon the guard for a sit-down, and discuss trade possibilities — what LaVine likes and doesn’t like — it would be embraced.
But a requirement?
The LaVine ego isn’t trending in that direction. At least not yet.
“I mean if they come to me and let me know, I think it would be great,’’ LaVine said, when asked if he would like that type of relationship with the front office where personnel decisions are discussed with him. “If not I’m not taking offense to it either. It’s not something that I’m asking for.
“I know what I stand for. I’m trying to help us get there and I don’t think you can question what my intentions are.’’
No one has, especially this season where LaVine has finally taken on the responsibility of being a two-way player. The offensive end is still way out in front of his defense, but there at least seems to be effort made to play both ends of the floor.
Adding player/general manager to LaVine’s responsibilities right now?
That might be a bit too much, even for the one player that has undoubtedly emerged as the face of the franchise. Yes, Otto Porter and Thaddeus Young were elected team captains, and Lauri Markkanen was expected to be the other foundation piece for Year 3 of this rebuild, but at the end of every game it’s been pretty obvious whose team this is.
And considering LaVine is guaranteed through the 2021-22 season, why not at least get his opinion on what would be the best pieces to surround him with? After all, the Feb. 6 trade deadline is only getting closer.
One major problem the front office is dealing with: Very little wiggle room to try to make LaVine happy.
Last summer’s additions thrown in the salad of what was the current roster, was done so with a two-year expiration date. The milk definitely wasn’t supposed to spoil by last month.
This is what the addition of acquiring Porter last season did.
The veteran forward will make $27.2 million this season, holding the player option for next season at $28.4 million. An option he will undoubtedly cash in on.
Of course the Bulls would love to move off Porter, now knowing it was a gamble in which they lost, but good luck trying to find a trade partner for that contract.
As it stands right now, the injured Porter is in line to collect just under $60 million from the Reinsdorfs when it’s all said and done, and up to this point has given them 24 games and 10 wins. The Bulls have basically payed Porter $3 million per win so far.
Another player they would love to move would be Denzel Valentine. The former first-round pick [No. 14 overall in the 2016 draft] is so far in the Jim Boylen dog house the search party hasn’t even found footprints. The problem is there would be very little return for Valentine, so he would have to be packaged.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t assets to be moved, however. Just not many.
Lauri Markkanen looks like a guy that needs a change of scenery, but the Bulls would be too paranoid to give up on a talent like that. That leaves Young and Kris Dunn, and that’s about it.
Sources have indicated that the Los Angeles Clippers have interest in both, but they could go after Young in a trade, and wait for Dunn, who is a restricted free agent this summer.
Either way, not a lot of chips for the Bulls to push into the middle.
With or without LaVine’s approval.
