While the Zach LaVine trade rumors have certainly slowed down as we’ve gotten into the dog days of the NBA offseason, they have (and likely will) persist until the eventual breakup with the Bulls officially happens.
No team has been more involved in Zach LaVine rumors than the Los Angeles Lakers. There’s no denying LaVine’s fit with LeBron and company. He would give LeBron and Anthony Davis a legitimate third-scoring option, and he would benefit greatly from not attracting the most attention from defenders. His catch-and-shoot ability would also be a great fit on the floor with LeBron. The problem, however, is his contract. LaVine’s remaining three years – at about $46 million per season -would leave LA with basically zero flexibility.
But again, this is all the information that we already know. The fit is there, but it’s going to be a tall task to make the numbers work. Yesterday, though, NBA writer Eric Pincus had a post on Bleacher Report talking about potential Lakers trade targets. The first option he mentioned was LaVine and discussed most of the things mentioned here. But after LaVine, he listed Nikola Vucevic as a potential fallback plan for LA.
So, if LaVine to LA isn’t doable, could the Lakers have an interest in Vucevic?
The Lakers & Nikola Vucevic
While most Lakers and Bulls rumors begin and end with LaVine, a Vooch move to LA does make some sense. The Chicago big man had a down year shooting the three last season, but historically he’s a 34.1% shooter from deep, and he does some of his best work in catch-and-shoot situations from the corner, which would be an ideal match for LeBron James.
Then, if we look at the Lakers’ depth in the paint, they could stand to add some rebounding help even if Vooch isn’t really much of a defender. Plus, Anthony Davis and his ability to defend the rim would be a pretty ideal frontcourt partner to go alongside Vooch.
So would there be a match here?
Potentially, yes. But itโs also not necessarily the type of addition that would move the needle much in LA. LeBron and the Lakers are looking to make a splash (as per usual) and Vucevic isn’t exactly that. But, if they were to strike out on their swings for the fences as they did at last year’s trade deadline, should they at least check in on Chicago’s veteran big man? I would think so.
This would be a deal, in all likelihood, to go down midseason or around the trade deadline. So that means there is a lot that could change between now and a potential trade. However, if Vooch gets off to a strong start and we see those three-point numbers bump back up a bit, I think there’s most certainly a match here. Not to mention, Vucevic’s contract isn’t the worst in the world – he’s owed $20 million this year and just over $21 million next year.
Again, this potential match is unlikely to be on anyone’s radar just yet, and there are a whole lot of factors that would have to play out in the right direction. But that said, I think there could absolutely be a deal here near next year’s trade deadline.