The trade market for Bulls guard Zach LaVine is “still barren,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski writes on Threads in a question-and-answer session with fans.
LaVine’s right foot injury is complicating Chicago’s efforts to find a taker, Wojnarowski adds. He hasn’t played since Nov. 28, and the team announced in early December that he would be sidelined for another three to four weeks while receiving treatment for inflammation in the foot.
He has reached the three-week mark and recently began working on “light cutting” in hopes of working his way back onto the court.
The Bulls have been trying for weeks to work out a LaVine deal as the first step in what was expected to be a larger roster shakeup. However, the team has played much better without him, winning six of its last 10 games to climb into 10th place in the East.
LaVine remains a dangerous offensive player, even though his current scoring average of 21.0 PPG and his shooting percentages of 44.3% from the floor and 33.6% from three-point range are all down from recent years.
Questions about LaVine’s defense and durability are affecting his trade value, along with a hefty contract that will pay him nearly $138M over the next three seasons if he picks up his player option for 2026-27.
Also on Threads, Wojnarowski states that Toronto “just isn’t there” on decisions to part with Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. The Raptors‘ forwards are both headed toward free agency next summer, but it appears team president Masai Ujiri will wait until closer to the Feb. 8 deadline before determining whether to make them available.
Wojnarowski describes trade talks around the league so far as “lots of buyers, few sellers.” He says the play-in tournament affects that balance, with more teams seeing a potential path to the playoffs.
A draft class that’s projected to be weaker than normal also comes into play, with teams less motivated to chase a high pick without a potential franchise changer like Victor Wembanyama available.
Wojnarowski expects the trade market to eventually heat up, but he predicts “the asking price is going to be high from the really bad teams to move off assets.”