NBA Trade Rumors: Brian Windhorst reveals Portland Trail Blazers could be a potential landing spot in the summer for Chicago Bulls' franchise cornerstone

Despite getting off to a great start to the season, the Chicago Bulls fell from a possible contender to a first-round exit in a matter of months. The Bulls, throughout the season, had a poor record against the top three teams in each conference.

Entering the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17 as the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, Chicago lost in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

After being traded to the Bulls in 2017, Zach LaVine became the face of the franchise but didn't find much success as a Bull, with a couple of 13th- and 11th-place finishes in the East. But after the arrival of DeMar DeRozan in the summer, the duo took the Bulls to their first playoffs in four seasons.

However, LaVine's recent comments about his upcoming free-agency raised some questions about his future in Chicago:

"I plan to enjoy free agency. We're gonna have to experience A through Z without making any fast decisions. I think that's something me and (agent) Rich Paul are going to go through and experience." (h/t) The Hoop Collective

Brian Windhorst, on ESPN's "The Hoop Collective," talked about how and why a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers could go down:

"First off, Zach is from Seattle. That's just one thing to point out. The Blazers, they got dealt a setback when the Pelicans made the playoffs, because they lost a lottery pick that they thought they were gonna get as a product of the CJ McCollum deal. And instead of getting a lottery pick this year from the Pelicans, they get Milwaukee's 2025 first-round pick.

"If the Blazers waive Josh Hart, that is telegraphing that they think that they're going to be able to spend their free-agent money"

What does the future look like for Chicago Bulls?

Unless Zach LaVine gets another max extension from the Chicago Bulls, considering his views on free agency, Chicago might be put in a sticky situation. With LaVine as an unrestricted free agent, the Bulls cannot necessarily keep LaVine by matching the offer LaVine gets from another team.

As pointed out on "The Hoop Collective," if LaVine exits, the Bulls will have another precarious situation to deal with. If Lonzo Ball's health isn't at its best by the summer, the Bulls look dead in the water with DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, whom they traded their picks for.