Zach Lavine Details Dispel Growing Narrative: Analyst

Getty Zach LaVine during a November 13 game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Chicago Bulls have parted ways with Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan this summer. They’d like to do the same with Zach LaVine but have had trouble finding a home for the two-time All-Star.

Perhaps the 29-year-old is getting a bad rap. Stephen Noh argued as much in a July 8 column for Sporting News.

Despite the narrative that LaVine is “a losing player,” Noh wrote that he “is not as toxic as portrayed” and could do better on a winning team.

“LaVine has been in some truly atrocious situations both in Chicago and Minnesota,” Noh wrote. “He’s played for six different coaches in 10 years, including some of the worst of the last decade. His rosters have been mostly awful — 72 of his 101 teammates are out of the league today.”

It’s true. LaVine has almost exclusively played for losing teams since entering the league in 2014.

Collectively, his teams have a 303-490 record in his 10 NBA seasons. That’s a .382 winning percentage. And as a player, LaVine is 216-364 all-time. That’s an even worse .372 winning percentage.

No matter how many teammates LaVine has had in or out of the league, he’s a common denominator on what have been consistently mediocre or bad teams.

But “through it all, LaVine has managed to be wildly productive,” Noh wrote. “He’s been near the top of the league in usage and well above average in terms of efficiency despite defenses loading up on him. Other flawed players have had high-level success by getting into better environments. … LaVine can be part of a championship team as a No. 3 guy instead of being miscast as a No. 1 or 2 on horrendous teams.”

LaVine is coming off of his seventh-consecutive season with the Bulls.

He appeared in just 25 regular-season games during the 2023-24 season before undergoing season-ending foot surgery. LaVine averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Bulls ‘Trying to Give Away’ LaVine

LaVine’s value on the NBA trade market is nearly negative. ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported that Chicago has been willing to attach a first-round pick as sweetener for taking him on in trade.

“There is no market for Zach Lavine,” Marks said on June 30. “They are trying to give him away and attach a first round pick. I’ve been told that by multiple, multiple people.”

Joseph Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Bulls are trying to attach the two second-round picks acquired in the DeRozan trade to boost LaVine’s value.

“The hope in making the sign-and-trade for DeRozan is getting two second round picks back that can now be attached to the LaVine package,” Cowley wrote on July 8. “But still it’s a long shot and the market has been screaming for over a year that there is not a lot of interest in LaVine.”

As of July 8, there are no takers for LaVine. It may be a trade that Chicago has to revisit once the dust of free agency has settled and the 2024-2025 season is underway.

Warriors Could Still Be in Play for LaVine

If the Bulls are determined to trade LaVine this summer, there are a few teams who should still be considered potential partners.

After losing Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors sit prime among them.

Retooling the roster around Stephen Curry, they’d previously looked into acquiring LaVine according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

“What big swings are still out there, as Golden State has also put Andrew Wiggins on the trade block, according to league sources,” Fischer wrote on June 30. “The options range across a spectrum of upside, from sending out picks for Brandon Ingram to potentially acquiring one with Zach LaVine, sources said.”

It seems like just the kind of move Golden State could make while toeing the line between championship hunting and protecting their future.

LaVine, provided he’s healthy, is a win-now talent. To acquire him and assets, too, would keep the Warriors progressing on both timelines.