The Los Angeles Lakers had a strong start to the 2024/25 season. However, they gradually lost their rhythm in the second half of November and early December. As of December 10, the Los Angeles Lakers had a record of only 13 wins – 11 losses, with most of those wins coming against weaker teams or teams without key players. When facing teams that were equal or better, the Lakers often had to accept defeat.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls are also struggling to find their way. With a record of 10 wins – 15 losses, the Chicago Bulls are struggling in the Eastern Conference standings. From here, a problem arises for the Chicago Bulls, when their first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft will only be retained on the condition that they make it to the Top 14 in the Draft Lottery. The paradox here is that if they want to keep the pick, the Chicago Bulls need to lose as much as possible, and enjoy the priority in the Draft Lottery when the season ends.
Therefore, the Chicago Bulls will need to push all the stars they have in hand to reduce the strength of the team. At the same time, what they get in return must be valuable for the future because the Chicago Bulls have not hidden their intention to rebuild since last season.
With both sides in need, the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls could enter negotiations to trade players. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, here are three scenarios that the two teams could consider to fulfill their respective goals for the 2024/25 season.
Trades That Could Help Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls Improve 2024/25 Season
Zach LaVine
Even with the signing of rookie Dalton Knecht, the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled with their 3-point conversion rate. The Lakers are 27th in the league in 3-point attempts, while their offense has fallen out of the top 10. Therefore, the Los Angeles Lakers need a consistent scorer to take the load off Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Zach LaVine is a good scorer and is completely tradeable. After recovering from a nagging injury, Zach LaVine is shooting a career-best 42.5% from 3-point range and averaging 21.3 points per game so far.
However, Zach LaVine’s biggest weakness is his salary of up to 43 million USD/season. This will cause the Los Angeles Lakers to lose many players to trade with the Chicago Bulls. Not only that, the risk of Zach LaVine’s injury recurring can come at any time.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers can still convince the Chicago Bulls with players like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt. These are names that can help the Chicago Bulls play well during the rebuilding process, as well as wait for better quality young players from the NBA Draft.
On the Lakers’ side, besides Zach LaVine, they can also be temporarily satisfied with names like Torrey Craig or Julian Phillips to thicken the bench.
Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic has been impressive in the 2024/25 season, shooting 65.1% from the field. This is 12% higher than Vucevic’s career average. Vucevic is currently averaging 21.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
If he joins the Los Angeles Lakers, Nikola Vucevic will become a reliable point guard, giving Anthony Davis more room to play. Nikola Vucevic’s stats will drop, but the qualities that can contribute to the overall play of the team cannot be ignored.
Besides, Nikola Vucevic also has a salary of only 20 million USD/season, which can help the Los Angeles Lakers preserve reserve players in case of exchange.
However, the Chicago Bulls certainly won’t want to lose Nikola Vucevic on the cheap. They’ll demand as many benefits as possible, including NBA Draft picks to help them rebuild in the future.
Lonzo Ball
After nearly 3 years off the court with multiple surgeries, Lonzo Ball is back on the professional scene. Lonzo Ball’s offensive efficiency is still at 36.4% from the 3-point line, while still being an extremely annoying perimeter defender thanks to his flexibility, thinking, and long arms.
A pure support and defensive player like Lonzo Ball is what every team needs. Besides, Lonzo Ball’s contract with the Chicago Bulls is about to expire after the 2024/25 season ends. Therefore, the Chicago Bulls will probably prioritize finding a partner to trade Lonzo Ball to avoid losing him for free at the end of the season.
Giving the Chicago Bulls back a player like Gabe Vincent might not be welcome, but having Jarred Vanderbilt and two second-round picks in the NBA Draft might force the Chicago Bulls to reconsider.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, this deal would be quite a surprising move, as they traded Lonzo Ball five years ago for Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Hornets.
