Fans and even those within the Nuggets’ organization appear to be torn on the idea of trading for Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. LaVine is a two-time All-Star with a silky smooth offensive game. He can score at all three levels, create shots for himself or others, make plays with the ball, and work for open shots without it.
At the same time, LaVine has battled knee injuries for most of his career and his durability is a major question mark. He’s also a defensive liability and somebody who has never proven he’s more than a good stats, bad team player. On top of all that, LaVine makes over $43 million this season $46 million next season, and he has a player option for almost $49 million for the 2026-27 campaign.
Trading for LaVine is a massive risk/reward proposition, but with the way this Nuggets season has started and their limited roster flexibility, this is the kind of move the team is weighing. In fact, the Nuggets were reported to have “significant” interest in making a deal for the 29-year-old Bulls guard.
Bulls reportedly not interested in taking back Zeke Nnaji in LaVine deal
But even if the Nuggets do decide to pursue LaVine, they still have to make the trade work and convince the Bulls to accept. In terms of matching LaVine’s $43 million salary, the Nuggets would need to send back Micahel Porter Jr. and his $35+ million, plus roughly $8 million more.
Given the Nuggets' imbalance cap sheet, their only options would be adding Zeke Nnaji and his $8.8 million salary for this season, or Dario Saric with his $5.2 million plus another player making a minimum - or close to it.
Unfortunately for Denver, longtime Bulls reporter, K.C. Johnson has reported that the Bulls have no interest in taking back Nnaji. Nnaji’s four-year $36 million deal looks like a disaster as the 23-year-old big man can’t even get on the court over the corpse of DeAndre Jordan. He’s viewed as a negative asset around the league and that makes things very difficult for the Nuggets.
Said this on @CHSN__ pregame show last night but, at least as of now, Bulls have shown no interest in taking Zeke Nnaji contract in any talks surrounding Zach LaVine.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 21, 2024
Saric’s deal is almost as bad, but it’s half the length and only about $10.3 million over two years. Still, that’s a negative deal and for the Bulls to take that on, they’d likely want one of the Nuggets’ decent young players (Strawther, Holmes, or Watson) or a pick down the road.
Either way, along with every other consideration, the Nuggets are going to have to convince the Bulls to take on some bad money. They may even have to painfully part with some extra sweetener, which would be crushing.
Perhaps the Bulls are just posturing and trying to squeeze the Nuggets for a better offer. They surely would like to move LaVine and they haven’t exactly had a line of suitors. But if they are going to hold firm on their Nnaji stance, this deal may be dead before it ever even gets off the ground; a tough pill for Nuggets fans to swallow.