When the Chicago Bulls signed Zach LaVine to five-year, $215 million deal this summer, they assumed they had locked up a franchise cornerstone for the next half decade.
Over the past couple of weeks, however, rumblings have emerged about LaVine being unhappy in Chicago. He is clashing with teammates. He has regressed from last season. It is a rough situation, all the way around.
In recent days chatter has started up about LaVine possibly being traded.
During a recent appearance on ‘The Lowe Post’ podcast with Zach Lowe, NBA insider Tim MacMahon presented an interesting suitor for LaVine’s services: the Dallas Mavericks.
“I just know that there are fans of him that hold prominent positions within the Mavericks,” MacMahon said.
“Again, I’m not sitting here and telling you there’s some great consensus. I think there’s enough fans of him where I wouldn’t totally rule it out.”
Why is this notable? Primarily because LaVine is injury prone, on an awful contract and there likely won’t be as many suitors for him as he thinks there will be. Yes, he has one preferred destination – but the odds of that coming to fruition are slim.
Unlike Alex Caruso, who has five teams hoping to trade for him because he is a consummate role player on a favorable deal, LaVine needs a very specific situation to thrive.
He found that situation with the Bulls last season, in a contract year, but the fact that he hasn’t been able to replicate that success isn’t a great indicator of him being able to do so elsewhere.
Brittany kept it real.https://t.co/qreHtc703j
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 28, 2022
The Mavericks, meanwhile, have made it no secret that they need a second star beside Luka Doncic. Whether LaVine is the right piece is debatable, but if the interest is there, they likely won’t have to face much competition to get him.
At the moment the Bulls appear dedicated to trying to make their current situation work. But if they don’t get on the right track soon, it wouldn’t be all that shocking to see them try and break things up.
Once that happens, the odds of LaVine landing in Dallas are about as high as they can get.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
