The Los Angeles Lakers and two other clubs in the group competing for the championship immediately showed interest in Zach LaVine, owner of more than 21 points/game this season.
After a poor start to the 2023-24 season, the Chicago Bulls feel that they need to rebuild to improve their performance as soon as possible. And to realize this goal, the “windy city” football team decided to bring one of their biggest stars to the negotiating table.
The Chicago Bulls have brought Zach LaVine to the negotiating table to listen to offers for the two-time All-Star.
According to many reputable news sites, scoring expert and mobile highlight and dunk machine Zach LaVine has been considered by the Chicago Bulls for exchange with other teams.
LaVine is 28 years old and has played for Chicago since the 2017-18 season until now. In his 7th year playing for this tradition-rich club, he is averaging 21.9 points with 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
As soon as information appeared that Zach LaVine might leave Chicago, three teams immediately showed interest: Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of three teams interested in Zach LaVine, the other two are the Philadelphia 76ers and the defending Eastern champions Miami Heat.
6 years ago, Zach LaVine was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Chicago Bulls in a blockbuster deal surrounding Jimmy Butler.
LaVine was only 22 years old at the time and had just torn his knee ligament (ACL), but he still met the great expectations of the Bulls’ board of directors and became the club’s highest-scoring player for many consecutive seasons.
Excluding this season, Zach LaVine averaged 24.5 points with 47% FG, 38% 3PT with 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. This set of indicators is quite good over 6 seasons (including 2 All-Star appearances).
Recognizing LaVine’s steady contributions, the Chicago Bulls gave the 1995-born player a maximum contract extension (5 years, $215 million) just before the 2022-23 season.
Zach LaVine is in the second year of a five-year, $215 million contract
But contrary to LaVine’s relatively good personal statistics, the Chicago Bulls have not had any improvement in terms of collective achievements. From the 2017-18 season until now, the team has a total record of 192-284, achieving a win rate of about 40%.
After 6 years, the Bulls entered the Playoffs only once in 2022 and were eliminated in the first round. Also during this time, the Chicago team had 3 different coaches and had 2 major personnel changes at the board. leader.
All of them did not bring any clear changes to the club, even when the Bulls had quality players like DeMar DeRozan, All-Star striker Nikola Vucevic, young bigman Patrick Williams…
Now both the Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine understand that both sides need change.
The fact that LaVine has carried the Bulls’ offense for 6 years has caused him to no longer have a breakthrough. The coaching staff also couldn’t find a way to create diversity and become easy to catch in the eyes of their opponents.
Unless LaVine or DeRozan have an extremely explosive individual match, the Chicago Bulls are still just a mid-range team with simple pieces. This leads to both sides reaching an agreement to find a new solution that is good for both.
After 6 years leading the offensive line at the Chicago Bulls, is it time for Zach LaVine to “free” them both?
Experts predict that bringing Zach LaVine to the transfer market can bring many high-quality pieces to the Chicago Bulls, helping them restructure their attack and find a new direction for the team.
As for the scoring star born in 1995, LaVine will have the opportunity to experience a new playing environment and does not rule out the possibility of trying out in a team competing for the championship.