NBA Rumors: Teams have reportedly called Bulls about Zach LaVine, to no avail

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Across the NBA and its content spheres, trade deadline week is fully underway.

And while the Bulls aren't necessarily in position to make any monumental moves, Zach Lowe did broach the topic of Zach LaVine's potential availability with Brian Windhorst on the latest Lowe Post podcast, which aired Monday morning. Windhorst said he hasn't heard LaVine's name brought up in league circles, adding that of anyone on the Bulls, Denzel Valentine is the most likely to be moved.

Lowe then responded with a string of insights that should be affirming for Bulls fans anxious to see LaVine flourish in Chicago:

I know teams have called the Bulls about Zach LaVine — recently. Good teams. The Bulls typically throw the phone out the window when people call about Zach LaVine, just don’t even bother. I assume that is still their stance, in part because Wendell Carter Jr. is injured, Markkanen’s injured, Porter’s injured. You traded Jimmy Butler in a defining pivot of your franchise, what, three years ago now? If you trade Zach LaVine for picks, that’s a hard sell for your fans, especially after you’ve now promoted Zach LaVine’s All-Star candidacy.

Of note: The Bulls don't appear to be close to entertaining the notion of trading Zach LaVine, even as "good teams" come calling. This checks out; as Lowe points out, shipping LaVine out for ambiguous assets not even three years into a rebuild centered around him would raise a lot of eyebrows across the fanbase.

In his mailbag on Jan. 23, our Bulls Insider K.C. Johnson addressed the possibility of the Bulls entertaining offers for LaVine, or even Lauri Markkanen. Here's what he said:

Shockingly, [the Bulls] say very little to reporters about their plans. That said, it doesn’t take a genius, or even a reporter, to ascertain that nobody should be untouchable on this roster in this most disappointing of seasons. Do I think Zach LaVine or Lauri Markkanen will be traded? No. Should the Bulls listen to any and all offers for those players if they come? Absolutely.

Anything is possible, especially around this time of year. But with the Bulls' rotation in flux due to injuries and the rebuild still too young to scrap entirely, it doesn't appear a seismec-level splash is in the cards (barring a seismec-level offer). At least not yet.

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Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports and tune-in to watch the NBA Trade Deadline Show on Thursday, February 6 at 1:30 p.m. CT. Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Bulls easily on your device.

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