After being rumored to be traded away from the Chicago Bulls all off-season long, Zach LaVine has revealed to be “frustrated” with the franchise. Why wouldn’t he be? The Bulls have one of the strongest cores on paper in LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, and yet, they are placed just 12th in the Eastern Conference with an awful 4-8 record.
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As reported by many, Zach LaVine is expected to be traded to either one of two destinations – the Los Angeles Lakers or the Miami Heat. One of LaVine’s recent actions even got Lakers Nation to believe that the athletic guard would be donning the Purple & Gold jersey at some point in this regular-season.
During the Chicago Bulls’ recent 96-94 loss to the Orlando Magic, the 28-year-old put on an LA hat, as seen in the X (Formerly Twitter) post by ‘JAKE’. Being optimistic as ever, fans of the California side were seen rejoicing on social media.
Zach Lavine’s Hat after his last game 👀pic.twitter.com/WS1Bp15oN0
— JAKE (@KingJakeVII) November 16, 2023
Of course, these overreactions will only lead to Lakers fans getting their hopes high. As, for now, however, the two-time Dunk Contest winner has explicitly stated that he doesn’t want to talk about the current situation he is in.
Zach LaVine dodges trade talk but has always been a LAL fan
Before the Chicago Bulls-Orlando Magic clash, Zach LaVine was pestered with questions regarding the rumors revolving around his trade talk. The 6ft 5” star dodged the question and revealed being focused on the contest against the Magic.
“Right now is not the time to really talk about that,” LaVine said. “Play the Orlando Magic tonight, try and get a win. If something comes out later on, that will be the time I talk about it.”
However, soon later, the former UCLA Bruin disclosed being “frustrated” with the franchise’s horrible performance in the 2023-2024 campaign.
“I’m frustrated we’re not winning,” LaVine said. “I think if you’re not frustrated, that’s a problem. It’s an upsetting thing when we’ve been trying to do the right thing for the last three or four years. It seems like we’re in the same place. We’re trying to get over that hump.”
All teams, especially the Los Angeles Lakers, have been closely paying attention to the Chicago Bulls’ downfall. Goes without saying, their intentions are clear – try picking up either of the star players on the roster.
LaVine likely wouldn’t mind being a member of the Lakers. After all, the multiple-time All-Star was a massive fan of the Lakers during his childhood, making this somewhat of a dream scenario. If he were to be acquired to play alongside LeBron James and co., Rob Pelinka would ideally have to exchange him for the likes of Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell (considering Austin Reaves is now promoted to untouchable”)
