The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to pursue Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls and and NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium believes the Bulls will “covet” Lakers guard Austin Reaves in trade talks.
Reaves signed a four-year, $53.8 million deal with the Lakers this past offseason. He can’t be traded until January 15, 2024.
Reaves is averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Lakers this season while shooting 46.0% overall, 33.8% from beyond the arc and 84.4% from the foul line.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls, Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
LaVine and the Bulls are open to parting ways and LaVine has the same agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group) as Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
LaVine would like to land with the Lakers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs or Sacramento Kings, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. The two-time All-Star doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so he can’t control where he gets traded.
LaVine scored a career-high 51 points on October 28 against the Detroit Pistons. He’s one of the most gifted scorers in the NBA. The guard is averaging 22.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season while shooting 45.3% from the floor, 34.4% from 3 and 86.6% from the free-throw line.
A UCLA product, LaVine signed a five-year, $215 million contract in the offseason of 2022. The most likely framework of a LaVine deal for the Lakers would center around D’Angelo Russell, who waived his implied no-trade clause this past offseason. It’d also likely need to feature Reaves and/or Rui Hachimura and either the team’s 2029 or 2030 first-round pick.
The Lakers would likely have to wait until at least December 15, when most of their roster becomes trade-eligible, to acquire LaVine.
The Lakers’ reported trade interest in LaVine at this early juncture of the season is best described as TBD, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. LA is currently focused on internal improvement. The front office believes the returns of Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent will be major boosts.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls, Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Reaves has a good rapport with LeBron and Davis. The Lakers didn’t include Reaves in any of their offers for Kyrie Irving last season. It will be interesting to see what Los Angeles does with Reaves in its trade talks for LaVine.
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