Getty Lakers superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James talk on October 18
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the favorites to land a superstar shooting guard who could be traded soon.
According to the latest odds by BetOnline.AG, the Lakers have 7-1 odds to land Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine.
As for Zach LaVine, the Knicks are at the top of the list, but the Lakers are in the mix with 7/1 odds, via @betonline_ag:
LaVine, who is averaging 21.7 points this season, has the same agent as Lakers All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion agreed to a five-year, $215.2 million deal with the Bulls in July as an unrestricted free agent, so he can’t be traded until January 15.
Some people around the NBA believe LaVine could request a trade from the Bulls, who are struggling this season after making the playoffs last year. Shams Charania and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic reported on December 20 that LaVine and the Bulls are not seeing eye-to-eye this season. Chicago’s locker room dispute at halftime against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 18 revolved around LaVine’s poor defense, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Multiple players called out LaVine, who is making $37.1 million this year.
Report: Zach LaVine ‘Wants to Go to the Lakers’
In a December 21 column called “Bulls’ Turmoil Has Teams Eyeing Trades for All-Star, Key Role Player,” Heavy.com senior insider Sean Deveney published quotes he received from an Eastern Conference executive. The exec told Deveney that LaVine “wants to go to the Lakers.”
“LaVine wants to go to the Lakers, that has been pretty clear for a while now,” the exec said. “The agents (from Klutch Sports) want him to be in Los Angeles, he is a UCLA guy and they did some rattling about his contract last offseason, to kind of lay the groundwork if things blew up. Which they seem to be doing.”
The Lakers are interested in trading for LaVine, league sources told Heavy.com. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reported on December 21 that LaVine never chose Chicago as his long-term home. The two-time All-Star was traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Bulls in the summer of 2017 in the blockbuster Jimmy Butler trade. LaVine signed an offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings in 2018, but the Bulls matched it. The Washington native did re-sign with the Bulls this past summer, but that may have been because no other team was able to offer him $215 million.
“LaVine never chose Chicago. He was traded there and had his offer sheet [from the Sacramento Kings in 2018] matched,” one NBA source told Pincus. “He wasn’t going to turn away $215 million from the Bulls. No one else had that kind of money to offer.”
Here’s 1 Way the Lakers Can Get Zach LaVine from the Bulls
According to a December 9 report from Cowley, the Bulls aren’t interested in acquiring Russell Westbrook. The Lakers aren’t going to trade Davis to get LaVine, so Los Angeles would have to offer several players and both of its draft picks in 2027 and 2029 to acquire LaVine, who would complement James and Davis with his shooting ability.
Under CBA rules, the Lakers can trade Kendrick Nunn, Lonnie Walker IV, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Max Christie, Patrick Beverley and their two future draft picks to the Bulls for LaVine, who is a career 38.4% shooter from beyond the arc. LaVine, who is only 27, told TMZ Sports in May that he’s always been a big fan of the Lakers.
Comments
Lakers Among Favorites to Land $215.2 Million 2-Time All-Star