To be precise, when the Bulls have a poor record, LaVine and teammates argue that the Lakers have a chance to get LaVine. Especially Lakers reporter Harrison · Faigen retweeted the report with the caption "Zach LaVine, you're already a Laker."
What does getting LaVine mean for the Lakers?
From an immediate power perspective, LaVine has averaged 20+ per game for five consecutive seasons since the '18-19 season. Even though he was carved up with DeRozan's arrival last season, LaVine averaged 24.4 points per game. It is worth mentioning that only the game against the Celtics did not score doubles, and the rest of the games were all doubles.
In addition to being a stable instant combat power. LaVine also has the catch-and-shoot ability of Klay Thompson. Of course, unlike the latter, who has strong basketball talent, LaVine is more helpless - in the first two seasons of his rookie, the Timberwolves have Wiggins and Downs to cultivate, and LaVine has less possession and more is just an assistant who plays off the ball.
That is to say, getting LaVine also gives the Lakers a very good instant combat power, and has the ability to not worry about integration without the ball.
It's worth noting, though, that LaVine doesn't have the ability to fight tough battles. At a small level, it is easy to be "invisible" when playing key moments of the game - so far this season, LaVine has shot only 34.1% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range.
In the grand scheme of things, it will be a "burden" for the team when the ball is concentrated and the performance is not good. In the 21-22 season, the Bulls entered the playoffs with joy and prepared for a big fight, but who expected to be easily eliminated by the Bucks 4-1 in the first round.
And the reason why the Bulls were easily eliminated has to say that LaVine's poor performance has a lot to do with LaVine - averaging 19.3 points per game and shooting 42.9%.
For the Lakers, not to mention how much leverage LaVine spends, the inability to fight a tough battle alone is a big problem. Because in the case of the Big Three, it is definitely not the regular season, but the playoffs and even the finals.
In such a situation, the Lakers can set their sights on DeMar DeRozan.
First of all, DeRozan has the ability to play tough battles - so far this season, he still shoots 48.6% from the field in "crunch time", and even averaged 7.1 points per game in the fourth quarter (10th in the league).
Second, it's intriguing that DeRozan shoots 48.1 percent from the field with the league's most 9.4 shooting. That is to say, unlike Curry, Lillard and others, DeRozan's label is "mid-range master".
There is a mid-range shot, and the most intuitive point is to enrich the team's skills and tactics, such as the "bull horn tactics" often used by the Lakers in the championship season. On March 9, 20 against the Clippers, the Lakers were able to win when role players such as Kuzma and Pope did not play well, and the important point was Bradley's shot - 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
And Bradley's offensive method is almost always running without the ball and shooting from the back of cover, which also makes the Clippers defenseless.
Moreover, there are two more points that must be mentioned.
First, DeRozan is a native of Los Angeles and a big fan of Kobe. In other words, he is very eager to return to his hometown to play and put on the purple and gold shirt. In fact, if it weren't for Wilson in the summer of '21, DeRozan would have basically gotten his wish.
Second, DeRozan has a 2-year contract of 55.9 million. It's not big, it's small, but the problem is that LaVine's contract is more than 200 million. That said, the bulls seek change, and DeRozan is certainly the best option from the perspective of getting rewards.
In summary, the Lakers can trade DeRozan + Ball in the first round.
From the bull's point of view, it is a pity to put DeRozan, but it is not unacceptable to get rid of Ball, the "sick seedling". More importantly, after getting Wei Shao's expiration, it can release nearly 50 million salary space, which is enough to start again.
That is to say, with a certain attraction to the Bulls, the Lakers are still very likely to win DeRozan, a 5-time All-Star. Of course, this is also thanks to LaVine creating chances, to be precise, the factors that caused discord in the team.