Shams Charnia recently reported that the Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine are open to exploring a trade and the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Philadelphia 76ers are all interested. The Athletic's Jovan Buha says that the Lakers' interest in LaVine is real but, only at the right price.
LaVine's huge contract is the Lakers' greatest concern in a potential trade, according to Buha. In addition to his $40.1 million salary for 2023-24, Buha writes, "[LaVine] is owed $138 million over the next three years (which includes a $49 million player option in 2026-27 he is likely to exercise). In addition, to make a trade to the Lakers financially feasible, LaVine would probably have to waive his 15 percent trade kicker.
The other issue is what the Lakers can offer the Bulls. Since so many of the Lakers' players recently signed new contracts, the only players they could include right now are Max Christie, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Colin Castleton, Alex Fudge, and D'Moi Hodge. A majority of the Lakers roster will be tradeable on Dec. 15, excluding Reaves and Hachiumra, who can't be moved until Jan. 15. Though, that shouldn't matter since, per Buha's report, the Lakers aren't interested in including Reaves in a potential LaVine deal despite his recent move to the bench, according to multiple team sources.
Per Jovan Buha:
"The most likely framework of a LaVine deal would center around Russell, who waived his implied no-trade clause over the offseason. It'd also need to feature Hachimura or Vincent as additional matching salary, another player and either the team's 2029 or 2030 first-round pick – potentially with protections."
The Lakers' performance leading up to the Jan. 15 deadline will determine who will be available and whether multiple players are moved or not. As of now, the Lakers are 6-6. We've already covered the Lakers' interest in Alex Caruso. If Chicago holds a fire sale and additional Bulls players become available, don't be surprised if the Lakers capitalize on that opportunity to improve their roster.
