Lingering Zach LaVine injury could mean he goes to unlikely team

LaVine is a two-time All-Star and two-time dunk champion, but his Chicago Bulls have played much better this year with him on the sidelines. When LaVine got injured on Nov. 28, the Bulls were 5-14. Since then, they've gone 17-11, enough to get them to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, firmly in the play-in race.

Fifth-year guard Coby White has emerged this year as an excellent point guard, starting alongside All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso. The combination has stabilized Chicago's defense and given them two three-point shooting threats.

When your team is better without the player who's in the second year of a five-year, $215M contract, that's a bad sign. That's why the Bulls are open to moving LaVine and getting his huge deal off their books. 

But if LaVine still isn't doing any basketball activities, it seems unlikely that a contender would risk trading for him without seeing him in action.

Enter the Detroit Pistons. Detroit has plenty of young talent, but very few wins. They also have plenty of payroll space, with over $60M in expiring contracts coming of the books. LaVine might be overpaid at $46M per year from 2024-27, but he's also a better player than the Pistons can hope to attract in free agency.

Would the Bulls trade Lavine if, as reported, Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are all "off the table"? It really depends on which team is willing to compromise before the deadline. 

The Pistons may well be the only team willing to deal for an injured LaVine, and their offer may only include sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanović, and not one of their prized young players.

The Bulls are certainly listening to offers for LaVine. But if and until he's healthy, the Pistons offer might be the best they can get.