The Philadelphia 76ers could acquire Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls and avoid paying the luxury tax, according to NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype.
The Sixers are expected to try to trade for a star player with the assets they acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the James Harden deal. LaVine is making $40,064,220 this season, while DeRozan is making $28,600,000.
“DeRozan’s $28.6 million salary is simple for the Sixers to match on its own with a combination of the expiring contract they got from the Clippers,” Gozlan wrote in his NBA trade rumors article. “In fact, they have enough expirings to acquire both DeRozan and LaVine while being able to duck the luxury tax.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
Rival teams have checked in with the Bulls about LaVine‘s availability, according to NBA insider Jamal Collier of ESPN. However, no team has been willing to meet Chicago’s asking price for LaVine, who signed a five-year, $215.2 million contract in July 2022.
Meanwhile, DeRozan and the Bulls are not close to agreeing to a contract extension, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. DeRozan would become an unrestricted free agent next offseason if an extension isn’t reached.
If the Sixers acquired LaVine and DeRozan while keeping Tyrese Maxey, they would have a lethal “Big 4” of LaVine, DeRozan, Maxey and Joel Embiid.
Philadelphia acquired Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington and K.J. Martin from Los Angeles in the Harden trade. As part of the trade, the Clippers also dealt a first-round pick, two second-round picks, a pick swap and cash considerations to the Sixers.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
LaVine is averaging 24.5 points this season, while DeRozan is averaging 23.3 points. If the Bulls aren’t in the playoff picture near the February trade deadline, the franchise could trade LaVine, DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic and embark on another rebuild, league sources told NBA Analysis Network.
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