The Chicago Bulls have been on a roll since Zach LaVine returned from injury, having posted a 4-1 record since he came back from a 17-game absence. The franchise still doesn’t plan on keeping him, though, as NBA insider Brian Windhorst is reporting that the Bulls would trade LaVine in the next five minutes if they could.
“If they could trade Zach LaVine in the next five minutes, they would trade him, and Zach would happily go to the airport,” Windhorst said on NBA Today. “I don’t think anything has changed there, I think they absolutely want to trade him.”
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The player and the team are open to a parting of ways, but the issue for the Bulls is that LaVine doesn’t have a lot of value in the market at the moment. Windhorst said the two-time All-Star’s five-year, $215 million contract is the reason why his value is so low.
LaVine is 28 years old and has a bit of injury history as well, so you can understand why that contract would seem a bit too much for a team to take on. Add to it, there have been reports that the Bulls’ asking price for LaVine is fairly high.
NBA insider Jake Fischer said the Bulls attempted to trade LaVine for Darius Garland. He added that Chicago was seeking an established starter, a young player with upside, and first-round draft capital for the star guard.
With that contract, they’re not going to get a haul remotely close to that for LaVine, who is averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game this season. This might end up being a similar situation to that of Bradley Beal, where the value was just so low because of the contract and injury issues, that the Phoenix Suns ended up getting him for pennies on the dollar.
It just comes down to how desperate the Bulls, who currently sport a 19-22 record this season, are to ship him out of town. If they want to get him and his deal off their hands anyhow, then I can see a trade taking place close to the deadline.
The Los Angeles Lakers And Zach LaVine
Ever since it was reported that LaVine was available, the Los Angeles Lakers have been linked with him. They have had a disappointing start to this season and he is viewed as an ideal third star next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who could help turn things around.
No move has materialized yet and there are a fair few roadblocks here. For starters, the Lakers are hesitant to trade for LaVine because of that massive contract.
L.A. already has James and Davis on big contracts and adding his deal would make them rather top-heavy once again. The other issue is that the Lakers are unwilling to include Austin Reaves in a trade deal for LaVine.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that any LaVine trade involving the Bulls and Lakers would have to include Reaves. If that doesn’t change, L.A. does have some alternatives in mind.
Reportedly, the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks have already spoken about a potential Dejounte Murray trade. Murray has a four-year, $114 million deal that comes into effect from next season and that’s a far better contract for the Lakers to take on.
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