Zach LaVine, a shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls, will miss an extra three to four weeks due to right foot pain.LaVine didn’t perform on November 28.
LaVine is shooting 44.3% from the field, 33.6% from outside the arc, and 86.6% from the free-throw line this season, averaging 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. With LaVine in the starting lineup, the Bulls are 5-13.
The Bulls and LaVine are willing to split ways. But according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, LaVine does not currently have a trade market.
According to Wojnarowski, “Zach LaVine does not currently have a market in the NBA.” And that’s not because Chicago hasn’t looked for it or isn’t looking for it right now. It stems from a confluence of factors. LaVine’s deal is for four more years, with an average salary of approximately $45, $46 million annually, but his output. And based on my observations, this is a player who has been in and out of the lineup recently due to a foot issue. Furthermore, I believe that clubs should be asking themselves how much Zach LaVine affects winning, particularly at that pay. Are we trading for him to be our top player given the new salary cap, you might be wondering? No. Who is our second-best player? No. Is that the kind of money we want to spend on our third-best player?
Additionally, the Bulls want to obtain some value from a deal. And in my opinion, LaVine needs to start doing well right now in order for the Bulls and himself to get traded. He has to start performing effectively and, in my opinion, influence victory. And when they consider the benefits of attempting to trade for him, I believe that’s what teams will want to see.
In July 2022, LaVine agreed to a $215 million, five-year contract with the Bulls. This season, he is earning $40 million.
Throughout the LaVine era, which started in 2017–18, the Bulls have only once advanced to the playoffs. In five games, they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 playoffs’ opening round.
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