UCLA Basketball: Fresh Trade Destination Emerges For Ex-Bruins Star

Former UCLA Bruins and current Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine, who's been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, and even the Golden State Warriors by national pundits, now apparently is being eyed by a new, less-postseason-oriented franchise.

Per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, the worst team in the NBA is gunning for the sharpshooter. Sources inform Edwards that the Detroit Pistons have spoken with Chicago about trading to acquire its maximum-salaried two-time All-Star.

Edwards cautions that Detroit is unwilling to move 2021 No. 1 draft pick point guard Cade Cunningham, 2022 lottery selections Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren and 2023 No. 5 pick Ausar Thompson, as it views all those players as imperative core elements for its future. Given how badly they've fit together en route to a 5-39 record thus far, this feels like a slightly stubborn line in the sand to draw. There's no guarantee any of these players will blossom into the level of player LaVine is right now, and given that Ivey plays his position, he at least seems like a viable piece to offload in an exchange.

The Bulls, obviously, are pushing back, and striving to extract one of these four recent lottery selections in a deal, along with veteran power forward marksman Bojan Bogdanovic. For now, per Edwards, the two clubs are hung up on this issue of young Pistons assets, as Detroit hopes Chicago will lower its offer once it gets more desperate.