
Anybody Interested in Zach LaVine?
Slow summer Friday, but here’s a trade rumor from Bulls Insider K.C. Johnson at NBC Sports Chicago:
The (Zach) LaVine trade chatter isn’t going away. In fact, league sources said that LaVine has landed in preliminary conversations with both the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers, who are working with James Harden and Damian Lillard, respectively, to find them new homes.
While neither of those conversations gained traction for now, the fact that LaVine continues to be discussed only underscores the speculation that multiple rival executives voiced to NBC Sports Chicago during the NBA Draft Combine in May: Will LaVine finish his five-year maximum contract with the Bulls?
Back then, speculation centered on Portland perhaps trying to trade for LaVine in an effort to appease Lillard, rather than keeping and using the No. 3 overall pick. Instead, the Trail Blazers selected Scoot Henderson, committing to a youth movement that has led to Lillard’s trade request.
LaVine is a bucket, good for 25+ on most nights. The Sixers have not had many of those players on the roster over the past six or seven years. Jimmy Butler was probably the last one.
The thing about LaVine is that he’s almost 29 and has played a grand total of four playoff games. The two-time All Star is entering year two of a five year/215 million dollar deal and doesn’t necessarily add any of the missing intangibles that cost the Sixers the Boston series. We’re talking dawg, grit, determination, all of that. He’s also an average defender and not changing the game on that side of the floor.
Seems like there wasn’t much to these “preliminary conversations,” but maybe we throw LaVine into the mix as a possibility should James Harden exit.