NBA Rumors: Lakers unwilling to include Austin Reaves in potential Zach Lavine deal
With Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls both open to "exploring a trade", the All-Star guard has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat. The latest reports see the Purple and Gold interested in adding in LaVine or either of the two stars — DeMar DeRozan or Alex Caruso to their ranks if the price is right. While there is no doubt that Chicago will expect good returns when dealing with their team's best names, rumor mills have it that LA will not include Austin Reaves in a potential LaVine deal.
According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, the Lakers' interest in LaVine is real. He also added what a deal would look like on paper:
"The most likely framework of a Zach LaVine deal would center around Russell, who waived his implied no-trade clause over the offseason," Buha said. "It’d also need to feature Hachimura or Vincent as additional matching salary, another player, and either the team’s 2029 or 2030 first-round pick – potentially with protections."
There have been reports that the Lakers were keeping an eye on the Bulls. With the side off to a rocky start, and LaVine now open to explore new homes, there is every possibility that they will blow up their roster and hit a rebuild.
Making Austin Reaves untouchable in trade talks is a no-brainer. The guard has been brilliant for LA on both ends of the floor and is the perfect foil for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He is looked at as a core member of the team as they look to a future without James, and that would mean he and Davis would be the ones leading the side.
How does Zach LaVine help the Los Angeles Lakers?
The bigger question would be what Zach LaVine brings to the table, and how it would help the Lakers as they look for another championship in the James-Davis era. This season, the guard is averaging 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.8 steals, and that makes him the team's second or third scorer who can be counted on to get buckets.
The biggest advantage will be his three-point shooting, an issue that has plagued the Lakers for the last three seasons. Career-wise, LaVine has shot 28.3% of his threes and has hit 33% of his shots this season. While that might be a worry for some, it's worth noting that LA has only propped up 30.4% of their threes — way worse numbers that have put them at the bottom of the league when it comes to beyond-the-arc shooting.
He's made some improvement as a defender, but he is still a liability on the end, and that will concern the Lakers who are a defense-first team under Darvin Ham. But there is no doubt that the Purple and Gold become another superteam in the West if they trade for Zach LaVine.