Getty Head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls watches his team
Competition for Chicago Bulls free agent Zach LaVine is heating up, if only in conversation. The start of free agency is over one month away and the 2022 NBA Draft still has to take place on June 23.
Yet, LaVine’s offseason decision was one of the hottest topics at the NBA Combine, wrote NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson.
We have already seen trade proposals sending LaVine to the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers. Now, there appears to be yet another team that feels as though they could use LaVine’s services next season.
Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill says the Dallas Mavericks need more from Luka Doncic to advance next season.
But he did not stop there.
LaVine to Dallas?
Doncic’s Mavericks are in a 3-0 hole against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Doncic has averaged 34.0 points on 62.5% true shooting with 7.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks in the series.
He needs to be better, as Goodwill explained. But it is clear that the Mavericks also need more firepower.
“It’s easy to see why Dallas is enamored with [Andrew] Wiggins’ former teammate, a high-flyer out of Chicago by the name of Zach LaVine who’ll be a free agent in July. A player with that athleticism, that one-on-one excellence who puts stretch marks on the defense would make you forget about Doncic’s own stretch marks when he’s not playing defense.”
LaVine averaged 24.4 points on 60.5% true shooting with 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists. But, before injuring his knee against the Golden State Warriors, he was averaging 25.6 points on 61.3% true shooting.
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He was also putting up moments such as this dunk from November against the Mavericks that is up for “Assist of the Year” in the NBA’s “2022 Fan Favorites”.
Bulls fans are certainly hoping to see a return to that form following his offseason arthroscopic knee surgery. But they also hope it comes in a Bulls uniform.
Recruitment and Fit
LaVine took to Twitter to comment on Wiggins’ poster dunk on Doncic. Naturally, that led to fans of several teams flocking to recruit him. That included those from both the Mavericks and Warriors.
However, there are some questions about fit for both sides that need to be answered before Mavs fans get excited or Bulls fans get too concerned.
Some believe a big reason for LaVine’s potential exit is how DeMar DeRozan’s late-game heroics – which earned him a spot in the “Fan Favorites” – relegated LaVine to being a spectator.
LaVar Ball said as much in a recent appearance on “The ReKap” with David Kaplan.
However, Doncic’s usage rate was even 5.6% higher than DeRozan’s in the regular season. They even had identical 34.2% usage rates in the fourth quarter, per NBA.com.
Doncic’s usage has been 14.3% higher than DeRozan’s was this postseason.
There is no debate that Doncic is the best player in a discussion between the two teams. And that star power is often a draw. But, if factors in LaVine’s search will be a mix of both finances and role, there are not any situations better than what the Bulls have to offer.
How much confidence that instills, unfortunately, is also highly debatable.
Fear of the Unknown
LaVine’s exit interview got the ball rolling on a potential departure from Chicago. His silence on the issue in the weeks that followed only contributed to the building chaos when the NBA’s legal tampering period begins on July 1.
While many make note that the Bulls are still the favorites to sign LaVine this offseason, Johnson’s report is as close to coming from the inside as we have gotten so far.
There is also the serious issue of what the Bulls do if LaVine does choose to go elsewhere. Only the Portland Trail Blazers and a realistic path to cap space. But several teams could be attractive sign-and-trade partners.
In the end, though, all of this interest should only solidify that the Bulls need to pay LaVine and figure out everything else later.