The Los Angeles Lakers suffered an embarrassing 134-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Unsurprisingly, not long after, calls began for L.A. to improve its roster.
One name that has been frequently linked to the Lakers in recent weeks is Chicago Bulls star, Zach LaVine.
LaVine has already made it clear that the Lakers are one of four teams he would be interested in going to. The question is just whether L.A. will pony up the assets necessary to acquire him.
This week, Shams Charania of The Athletic offered some insight into the Lakers’ current position on adding LaVine to the roster.
“I think the Lakers will be patient… I expect them to express interest in Zach LaVine… The Bulls, I’m sure, would covet Austin Reaves in any potential LaVine trade.”@ShamsCharania on whether LA will pursue a 3rd star 🗣
(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/1bzwUAl5GU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 28, 2023
“I expect them to express interest in Zach LaVine, but he’s making almost $40 million,” Charania said.
“And so to total the salaries, to reach that amount in a trade, guys like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, they are not both trade-eligible till mid-January.
“And so the Bulls — I’m sure — would covet Austin Reaves in any potential Zach LaVine trade as any team would. If you’re the Lakers and you’re out there trying to pursue a third star, whether that’s Zach LaVine, anyone else that becomes available, the player that teams will ask about is Austin Reaves 100 percent.”
It will be interesting to see how this situation ultimately shakes out. LaVine had made it clear that there is one team he doesn’t want to go to.
Liv Cook’s Parents’ Plan For Josh Giddey Revealed By NBA Insider: https://t.co/J6XoKmKKYR
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 28, 2023
Beyond that, all options are on the table.
Clearly L.A. wants to keep Reaves and preserve its depth, but that only makes sense if the team is winning.
Otherwise, expect LaVine-to-the-Lakers rumors to continue to intensify as the NBA Trade Deadline ultimately approaches.
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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.
