East Notes: Bulls, Zach LaVine, Pistons, Pacers, Pascal Siakam

Bulls

Perhaps no team is facing as many major offseason decisions as the Bulls, who could undergo a complete facelift — or try to run it back with just some fringe changes.

For starters, they again are discussing Zach LaVine trades with multiple teams, as we relayed here. But that’s just one possibility, wrote Chris Herring of ESPN.

“Chicago needs to do something to shake itself from the perennial play-in team purgatory in which it finds itself,” Herring wrote. “Finding a new home, and landing a decent asset or two, for swingman Zach LaVine would be the clearest way to do that.”

That’s not all.

“And bringing back unrestricted free agent DeMar DeRozan might seem like a wrong step to some, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old is still highly productive, and is a good enough playmaker to aid the offense,” Herring added. “Chicago should also reach a sensible deal with restricted free agent Patrick Williams, who at 22 has already shown to be a solid defender and good shooter from deep for his size.”

• Word is, this could also be the season in which Lonzo Ball finally returns. The Bulls had better hope so. For now, the Bulls are confident he will indeed play, as we relayed here.

Pistons

Now that the Pistons have made a (wildly expensive) decision on Monty Williams, they will need ways to make their coaching vacancy more attractive. And there is a path to that, as Herring noted.

“The first move should be to lock down floor general Cade Cunningham, the franchise’s 2021 No. 1 overall pick and centerpiece, with a five-year, $215 million extension,” Herring wrote. “The Pistons should then decline Evan Fournier‘s $19 million team option so they can have upwards of $60 million to spend in free agency — an amount that should allow them to both meaningfully upgrade the roster’s talent with more win-now veterans and address its numerous holes on either side of the floor.”

• In case you missed it, two candidates are already being linked to the vacancy in Detroit. Plenty more will surely follow. We have that full story here.

Pacers 

A maximum contract extension seems to be in place for Pascal Siakam, as first reported by Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

This should come as no surprise, as the Siakam trade with the Raptors played a major role in Indiana reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. But that shouldn’t be Indiana’s only move in trying to run it back.

“The Pacers should also bring back restricted free agent Obi Toppin, who averaged 10 points and nearly four boards on 70% shooting from two and 40% from three,” Herring wrote.

• One hypothetical trade has the Pacers landing Mikal Bridges from the Nets. We have that full post here.