“Covet Austin Reaves”: Shams Charania Believes Zach LaVine’s $40 Million Purse Will Play a Crucial Role in a Potential Trade With Lakers

The Athletic’s Shams Charania recently deep-dived into the possibility of the Lakers acquiring Zach LaVine through a trade with the Chicago Bulls. Since news of LaVine’s potential trade opened up, many teams, including the Lakers, have explored the opportunity to find a suitable trade option to have LaVine on the team.

Charania suggests the Lakers could trade Austin Reaves to acquire Zach LaVine on trade. However, this time, the Lakers might be patient rather than haphazardly following through with the opportunity as they did for Kyrie Irving last season. LaVine’s $40,000,000 paycheck from the Bulls is the main influence on which player will become the trade chip.

Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell cannot be a part of this deal due to contract limitations that restrict them from trade eligibility till mid-January. However, in the case of Reaves, the Bulls might actually want to have him in the team in exchange for the Lakers getting their ‘third star’ with Zach LaVine.

Speaking in an appearance on Fan Duel’s Run It Back, Charania said, “Bulls, I am sure, would covet Austin Reaves in any potential Zach LaVine trade as any team would. If you are the Lakers and you are out there to pursue a third star, whether it’s Zach LaVine or anyone else that becomes available, the player that the team will ask about is Austin Reaves, 100%.” 

While many teams are vying to sign Austin Reaves in a trade with the Lakers, it’s unlikely for the Lakeshow to budge on the same. In fact, Charania noted how the Lakers omitted Reaves even from a potential Kyrie Irving deal. Currently, the Lakers are assessing their options for a trade. Perhaps the Lakeshow is currently evaluating all its options to look for a possible third star, whether in Zach LaVine or somebody else.

Chicago Bulls is looking to rebuild by trading Zach LaVine

Chicago Bulls is currently looking to do a rebuild and is seeking superstar-level trade offers in exchange for Zach LaVine. The Bulls are currently 5-13 in the league and are eagerly looking to become a playoff threat by resolving issues in their squad. However, Zach LaVine seems to have drawn distance from the Bulls’ project and seeks to join a winning franchise.

Daniel Greenberg on Twitter (now X) notified that LaVine apparently has still not gotten over coach Bily Donovan benching him in the game against the Orlando Magic on November 18, 2022. The game resulted in an eventual 107-108 loss for the Bulls.

Currently, LaVine is averaging 22.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists from 45.3% field goal percentage. This has been his lowest since the 2017-18 season, proving that his days in Chicago are looking seemingly numbered as time passes.