What was once considered a certainty has hit muddier waters lately as reports have surfaced that it’s no longer a “home run” for Zach LaVine to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls.
Of course, the Bulls hold a major advantage here as the team capable of offering the most money to the explosive 2 guards on his next contract, but LaVine apparently wouldn’t be happy to play second fiddle to DeMar DeRozan in Chicago.
So while we — along with many others — were still expecting LaVine to re-sign with the Bulls, we’re here to look at four other potential destinations for the former UCLA standout.
Los Angeles Lakers
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The reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers would want LaVine are obvious.
He’s the best free agent on the market this summer, a huge factor for a proud franchise that likes to make a splash, he’s represented by Klutch, the same agency as james lebron and Anthony Davis and he would be a huge boost to a Lakers team that ranked 22nd in the league in points per 100 possessions last season.
LaVine ranked in the 79th percentile in scoring alone last season, producing 1.02 points per possession (PPP) on those opportunities while the Lakers were 13th in the same type of play, proving how much the club needs of a one-on-one scorer like LaVine, who would help relieve much of James’ offensive load.
Additionally, LaVine even recently discussed growing up as a Lakers fan (by TMZ):
Zach LaVine – who played at UCLA before being drafted No. 13 overall in 2014 – hit Craig’s in West Hollywood with his wife, Hunter… and after chowing down on food, the cameras had to ask him questions on his future. The two-time Slam Dunk champion first played it cool…explaining that his looks shouldn’t be a big deal, considering he lives in Los Angeles. When asked to deliver a message to Laker Nation, LaVine’s response is enough to give fans a glimmer of hope. “I’ve always been a big fan,” he said as he got into his Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.
As for how it might work out financially, that part gets a little trickier.
According to our salary cap expert Yossi Gozlanthe only real way for the Lakers to successfully sign and trade for Zach LaVine is if Russell Westbrook is included in the deal, or if he gets paid up front.
Indeed, signing and trading for free agency like LaVine would subject the Lakers to the $156 million cap, which the Lakers would have to stay below with at least 14 players. By replacing Westbrook’s $47.1 million with LaVine’s projected starting salary of $36.6 million, they can still fill out the rest of the roster around him, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest. players currently under contract.
The only problem is that the Lakers would be limited to signing a minimum number of players the rest of the way, which means they’ll be looking at another season with 9-10 minimum players on the roster. It’s hard to see the Lakers being contenders with the majority of the roster again being minimum players.
Difficult but somewhat doable.
Detroit Pistons
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The team with the most cap space this summer, the Detroit Pistons have just $76.8 million committed to player salaries next season, making them a plausible candidate to sign anyone. what a free agent, including LaVine.
After Jerami Grant – a trade contender in his own right – the Pistons’ highest-paid player next season would be Marvin Bagley, Detroit is expected to pay him $14.8 million in 2022-23. If a Grant trade falls, it would open up even more money for Detroit to offer LaVine.
Here’s our own Yossi Gozlan again for how this can happen financially:
Detroit should operate as a cap space team this offseason so they can generate enough space to sign LaVine outright. They would still need to decline multiple team options or cut the payroll by trading a veteran like Jerami Grant or Kelly Olynik to reach the maximum salary of $36.6 million to which LaVine is entitled.
When it comes to basketball fit, LaVine would make a lot of sense as a backcourt running mate for Cade Cunningham, a great young playmaker in his own right. Cunningham is more of a creator than anyone LaVine played with in Chicago — the former No. 1 pick averaged 8.3 assists per 100 possessions while DeRozan averaged 6.7 last year — giving the duo a lot of synergistic potential.
LaVine’s three levels would also be a huge boost for a Pistons team that ranked second-to-last in points per 100 possessions last year with a meager 105.6.
Every time you land an All-Star of LaVine’s caliber in free agency, it’s cause for celebration, but when it’s one whose compatibility with his new team is as clean as in this potential scenario, it would be a real coup for the Pistons. Especially if they take him away from a division rival.
miami heat
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This is another potential tweak that would be quite financially tricky, almost certainly requiring a signing and trade to materialize. But from a purely basketball perspective, it’s easy to see why LaVine would be a huge pickup for the Miami Heat.
Although Miami was able to fight their way to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years of Jimmy Butler era, the factor that prevented the Heat from going further and hoisting the Larry O’Brien The trophy was the team’s attack – or lack thereof – in the most difficult stages.
Of the teams that made it out of the first round of the playoffs this year, the Heat ranked third-worst offense with 111.2 points per 100 possessions. Even in the regular season, Miami was only 12th in offensive efficiency with 113.0 points per 100 possessions.
And although factors like a gimpy Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro played a huge part in that, there’s no doubt the Heat need a top scorer if they’re going to win an NBA championship, something even Joel Embid agree with:
This is where a player like LaVine could come into force.
To make such an acquisition, Gozlan says Lowry would have to be involved:
A sign and trade sending LaVine to Miami would most likely require Kyle Lowry to be included, as it will be nearly impossible to stay below the cap with him with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and LaVine all on max contracts. A set of two to three first-round picks, plus Lowry and Tyler Herro to match salaries would likely be part of such a deal. While capped in this scenario, they would still have enough flexibility to keep Duncan Robinson and their minimum standards, use the taxpayer mid-tier exception, give PJ Tucker a $1.1 million raise, and not sign only an additional 3-4. more minimum players thereafter.
Given the Bulls’ need for a veteran point guard, especially with Lonzo’s Ball knee looking like a problem, maybe this move wouldn’t be totally over the top.
Atlanta Hawks
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With Trae young at the helm, it’s obvious the Atlanta Hawks are in win-now mode and are hoping to take the next step to becoming contenders.
And despite Young’s brilliance this season, it was very evident in the playoffs just how badly Atlanta needed to add a running mate for their All-NBA general, especially with the effectiveness of their current off-ball guards. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerterlooked out of the bench.
This is where a player like LaVine could help, as his presence would prevent defensive teams like the Heat from forcing the ball out of Young’s hands with hard traps and well-timed double teams.
Want to force Young to pass the ball by sending him a second defender? Cool, good luck doing that with an All-Star scorer of LaVine’s caliber on the floor by his side — and with a four-to-three advantage offensively, to boot.
The days of Young being neutralized as adamantly as he was in past playoffs would be over if Atlanta had a second option like LaVine on their roster.
To get there financially, Gozlan says:
Atlanta is fast approaching luxury tax with Trae Young now poised to earn the same max contract LaVine is eligible for. They could put together an attractive package for LaVine that could include a combination of John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter to match the salaries for him. They should be able to stay below the hard cap and field a competitive roster with LaVine, but it could put them above the luxury tax for the first time in a long time.
A 1-2 from Young and LaVine would definitely be fun to watch.
