The Chicago Bulls cannot seem to give away Zach LaVine and his 3-year, $138 million contract. They are clearly looking to rebuild, and LaVine no longer seems to be a part of Chicago's future plans.
The Los Angeles Lakers desperately need a third-star caliber player to maximize their potential in the waning years of LeBron James's NBA career. Anthony Davis is still there, but the duo has not been enough since winning the 2020 bubble championship.
LaVine could be that guy to give the Lakers the extra star power needed to get them over the hump, but at what cost? The fact that the Bulls have been looking to move LaVine all Summer with no luck lets potential suiters know what the rest of the league thinks of him and his contract.
Los Angeles needs an impact player almost as badly as Chicago wants to move theirs. If the Lakers are willing to take him off their hands for cheap, it could be a win-win for both franchises.
The problem is that the Lakers would have to gut their roster to make the money work, and this late into the offseason, it would be hard to find rotation-level players who could fill the void on minimum contracts.
If acquiring LaVine means Los Angeles gives back three of Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jared Vanderbilt, D'Angelo Russell, and Gabe Vincent in return, does it really make sense for the Lakers to pull the trigger?
To make the trade worth it for the Lakers, the Bulls must also include some draft compensation. If that were the case, Los Angeles could feel better about letting some talented young players walk out the door. They could then bundle the pick(s) with the draft capital they already have to fill out the rest of the roster via lower-level trades.
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