The Chicago Bulls were serious about pushing for the playoffs this past season and showed their affinity for Alex Caruso too.
Their main goal this offseason is said to be trading two-time All-Star Zach LaVine. They have held several discussions with several teams over the years, and the latest one even involved a potentially “painful” scenario.
“The Sacramento Kings are going back to the well with the same trade package they offered Toronto twice for OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. The offer includes Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter and draft pick compensation. They’re known to have had calls with Chicago involving Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso,” The Action Network’s Matt Moore wrote on June 18.
A package Caruso and LaVine for Barnes, Huerter would leave the Kings $9.1 million short of satisfying league rules. But adding big man Trey Lyles would get them there.
Such a scenario could look like this Heavy Sports trade proposal:
Bulls get:
– Harrison Barnes
– Kevin Huerter
– Trey Lyles
– Future first-round pick
Kings get:
– Alex Caruso
– Zach LaVine
Kings Trio Could Help Bulls’ Depth in Potential Trade
Barnes, 32, averaged 12.2 points and shot 38.7% from beyond the arc last season. He also averaged 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists while starting all 82 games for the second straight season.
He is entering Year 2 of a three-year, $54 million contract.
The 25-year-old Huerter averaged 10.2 points across his 64 appearances last season, both of which were the second-lowest marks of his career.
Acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2022 offseason, Huerter was a key part of the Kings’ run that snapped their 14-year playoff drought. But he found himself back on the trade block this past season while also shooting a career-worst 36.1% from beyond the arc.
Huerter is in Year 3 of a four-year, $65 million pact.
We understand that Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter are the main trade pieces so leverage might not be perfect. But great front offices find ways to get better.
If Monte McNair wants to be elite, he has to take some swings 💯 pic.twitter.com/baAKK2VIV1
— Allen Stiles (@The_StilesFiles) June 18, 2024
Lyles is in the final year of a two-year, $16 million contract. The 28-year-old combo big avered 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists last season, shooting 38.4% from deep.
Sacramento cannot trade their 2024 first-round pick until draft night due to that Hawks deal. The Kings owe a future first-round pick to the Hawks. That pick is top-12 protected in 2025 and top-10 protected in 2026.
That means their 2027 first-round pick is the first one they could move in a potential trade.
The Kings could also place stipulations on whatever draft capital they offered Chicago in such a deal.
Chicago would be sending out $52.9 million in salary in the deal above while taking back $42.8 million, shaving more than $10 million from the Bulls’ bottom line in 2024-25. It would also give the Bulls a quicker path to cap space.
Kings Wanted Zach LaVine in Restricted Free Agency in 2018
The Kings also showed interest in LaVine before, inking the two-time All-Star to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent in 2018. That was under a different regime, though. The Bulls quickly matched that and they re-signed LaVine to a five-year, $215.1 million contract in 2022.
Meanwhile, interest in Caruso is believed to be widespread across the league.
But the Bulls have turned away trade offers for him. They are also interested in extending him. He is entering the final year of his four-year, $36.9 million contract.
The Bulls have explored trading LaVine since the 2023 deadline. Their previously high asking price was seen as a roadblock to getting something done, but NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reported in May that he sensed a significant drop in that price.
Johnson previously explored a scenario similar to what Moore described.
This would certainly represent a drop from that price after the Bulls’ reluctance to move Caruso before.
