The LA Lakers have dominated the NBA trade rumors in this cycle. Amid the buzz surrounding the Purple and Gold, reports of the team pursuing Zach LaVine have resurfaced. According to the Chicago Sun Times' Joe Cawley, the Lakers and Bulls engaged in discussions that would have sent the $15,159,700 Klutch Sports client to LA. However, a deal never materialized.
The Bulls have reportedly tried trading LaVine for two consecutive years, and the Lakers have always been mentioned as a landing spot, especially because former All-Star forward and LeBron James share the same agent - Rich Paul.
However, the Lakers seem to need a scorer amid LeBron's gradual regression and Anthony Davis cooling off lately on offense after a hot start. On the other hand, LaVine has been going off for the tanking Bulls, averaging 32.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the past five games, shooting 59.8%, including 42.4% from 3.
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Zach LaVine is proving his doubters wrong and improving his market. A section of Lakers Twitter is seemingly convinced that he could move the needle for LA, while others remain adamant about not going through a big-three situation again, similar to the Russell Westbrook trade debacle, leading to a 33-49 season in 2021-22.
Here's how fans reacted to the possibility of the Lakers going after LaVine:
"No, we will have another Westbrook situation on our hands. Depleting our depth will ruin this team," one fan wrote.
One fan listed the only condition on this trade:
"Only if they give us a first round pick, getting Lavine Handicaps our team."
Another fan sounded positive:
"Yes anybody who says no is unserious"
"No, can we stop posting this every 5 days," one user wrote.
More reactions followed:
Trading away D'Angelo Russell's $18 million contract buried Lakers' Zach LaVine pursuit
The LA Lakers seemingly have no interest in pursuing a third star. Instead, the team is leaning towards boasting a deep roster. While they spoke to the Bulls for Zach LaVine early in the year, LA took a turn on those tactics by using D'Angelo Russell's $18 million expiring contract to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets and add a much-needed 3-and-D presence.
With Russell gone, LA might struggle to package a deal for LaVine. The Lakers could lose significant depth, trading pieces like Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, among others. Even if that was a possibility, the Lakers logistically may have required more teams engaged to fill out their roster after losing so many players.
The LA Lakers would have been over the second apron after adding Zach LaVine's $43 million salary, handicapping them from making additional moves or signing players via buyout.
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