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The Lakers, 76ers, And Heat Are Expected To Have Interest In A Zach LaVine Trade

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It only took a few weeks of the 2023-24 season for our first major trade rumor to emerge, as the scuffling 4-7 Chicago Bulls are apparently willing to discuss trades for Zach LaVine, who has perpetually been in trade rumors the past few years. This time it sounds like both LaVine and the Bulls are more open to actually finding him a new home, but the question remains whether the right package for the former All-Star guard exists.

Figuring out LaVine’s value is difficult, as he’s in the second year of a 5-year, $215 million deal and is putting up the worst production of his Bulls tenure in the first 11 games of the season. Even so, the Bulls will be looking for star return while other teams will surely be trying to knock down the price by highlighting his annual price tag. There are a number of teams that should at least make a call about LaVine, but many of the ones that make the most basketball sense aren’t exactly the most glamorous destinations.

However, basketball sense or not, there are some usual suspects that are emerging publicly as the potential destinations for LaVine, as Shams Charania reported the Lakers, Sixers, and Heat are expected to explore the possibility of adding the star guard.

We all know what the Heat have to offer, as all of the pieces that got tossed around in potential Damian Lillard deals would have to be in play for LaVine to make the money work, headlined by Tyler Herro. The Lakers would almost assuredly need to wait until January to make a move, when they’re able to send out players they re-signed this summer, but they could exhaust their backcourt resources and send a combination of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent out to bring LaVine in. Whether it’s a good move to consolidate their talent once again into a star trio rather than having a bit more roster balance is a different question, but they could make it happen. The Sixers have Tobias Harris at their disposal to make a move, but the emergence of Tyrese Maxey has to give them a bit of pause about adding another guard who likes to have the ball in his hands. On top of the concerns of stifling Maxey’s superstar leap, he and LaVine as your starting backcourt would bring some significant defensive concerns as well.

It’s not a surprise to hear those three teams mentioned as the first interested parties, but I do wonder how serious they are as potential landing spots and how much this is LaVine’s side floating the best teams possible.