Market interest in Lavine is high.
Local media outlet ‘The Athletic’ reported on December 12 (KST), “There are teams interested in Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers are among them. The Toronto Raptors are also interested.”
On December 2, ESPN reported that no teams were interested in Lavine. However, there seems to be a renewed interest in the player.
Zach LaVine has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the 2023-2024 season. This is due to the poor performance of his team, the Chicago Bulls. Currently, Chicago has a 9-15 record and sits in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. This is largely due to the fact that their star players, including Lavine, are not performing up to par. Only Alex Caruso has been a consistent performer for Chicago this season.
Lavigne has had his share of off-field issues. He was shown on television refusing to speak to the local Chicago media after an exhilarating come-from-behind win. Rabin said there was a misunderstanding, but local Chicago fans were not impressed.
Lavine is averaging 21 points, five rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the 2023-2024 season. This is Lavine’s worst performance in a Chicago uniform. His defense remains a weakness. Lavine is a solid scorer, averaging 20 points per game, but he’s clearly struggling this season.
However, that doesn’t mean the Bulls are going to give him away cheaply. For Chicago, trading Lavine would mean a complete rebuild. They’d have to get a prospect of the future or multiple draft picks in return.
The Lakers and Philadelphia are two teams that have been mentioned in rumors that could use Lavine. The Lakers have a solid one-two punch in Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and their weakness is a scorer who can consistently hit 3-pointers from outside. They have Austin Reeves and D’Angelo Russell, but Lavine is clearly a much higher level player. If he joins the team, he could be the final piece of the puzzle for the Lakers.
Philadelphia, on the other hand, is a different story. They have a solid one-two punch in Tyreese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but unlike the Lakers, they don’t have a weakness in outside shooting. Instead, Philadelphia is in desperate need of a fourth option or a long forward who can partner with Embiid.
A trade with Toronto would be more difficult. Two of their key pieces, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, are free agents after this season. There have been consistent reports that they want to re-sign them, but there is no word on progress. Unlike Siakam and Anunoby, Rabin has three years left on his contract, including this season, so Toronto could make a case for acquiring him rather than letting him walk as a free agent. This would require a three-way trade.
Rabin, who was reportedly unpopular on the trade market, has become a hot commodity again. If Chicago continues to struggle, a trade for Lavine is likely to happen.