For now, the Philadelphia 76ers are leaving things the way they are. In other words, they’re not making any panic trades. At least, not yet.

With trade season bound to unfold once December 15 comes around, the Sixers may have more options. One of those options is the Chicago Bulls. Jake Fischer reported that the Bulls have made three players available: Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Lonzo Ball.

LaVine has been linked to the Sixers for a few years now. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey named LaVine among their potential trade targets back in May.

Let’s get this out of the way. LaVine is one of the NBA’s most overpaid players because, despite his talent, he is paid like a franchise player. He can play at an All-Star level but has minimal playoff success 10 years into his NBA career.

So why would the Sixers even bother trading for him? The only reason would be to get out of Paul George’s contract, and even that would be contingent on the Sixers believing George isn’t worth paying.

That’s not out of the realm of possibility, but it's not something the Sixers are considering. If they do, there are certain appeals that LaVine compared to George. He’s younger, has one less year on his deal, and is paid less than George.

The problem with a potential LaVine trade with the Bulls

One key detail to remember is that the Bulls want to get rid of LaVine precisely because of his contract. The caveat with acquiring George is that he could potentially be even worse to deal with contract-wise if more evidence indicates that he’s in decline.

The truth of the matter is, even if the Sixers are willing to trade George, LaVine might not be who they look into first.

However, if it comes to that, he might be the best they can hope for.