Recent rumors suggest that the Chicago Bulls appear likely to retain Zach LaVine in NBA free agency. Their anxiety won’t end until the ink dries, but they have to be encouraged by these developments.

Now, their next step is to improve the team around LaVine. Assuming he does stay, it’s likely that this team’s attack will continue to center around LaVine and DeMar DeRozan’s individual abilities to break down defenses.

The questions revolve around their supporting cast. This group needs better defenders and more reliable floor spacers. It’s hard to know exactly what they’ll do, but given their underwhelming 2021-22 campaign, we should expect changes.

Swapping Lonzo Ball for D’Angelo Russell would be a large one. Granted, Russell would represent a downgrade from Ball in terms of both spacing and defense.

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Still, he’s a more dynamic scorer. Furthermore, such a swap ought to net the Bulls an additional asset, given that Ball likely has higher trade value than Russell the moment.

If such an exchange did occur, here’s how we figure it would look.