NBA Rumors: 4 Teams "Consistently Motivated" As Zach LaVine Suitors

The Chicago Bulls haven't yet made their intentions known about whether they're ready to blow things up, either at this trade deadline or after the season. But according to NBA Insider Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, one thing we do know is which teams will be ready to go "all in" on All-Star Zach LaVine if the Bulls make him available.

The Lakers, Heat, Knicks and Mavericks have consistently been mentioned by league personnel as holding motivations to land Zach LaVine if Chicago moves him, per @JakeLFischer pic.twitter.com/2iCSBH19J4
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 2, 2023

Per Fischer:

The Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks have consistently been mentioned by league personnel as holding motivations to land LaVine if the time does arrive. Portland also showed interest in signing LaVine last offseason, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The Lakers, Heat and Knicks definitely like their big splashy moves, and feel that LaVine's prolific scoring is just what they need. As for the Mavs, they're still looking for that true sidekick superstar to put alongside Luka Doncic. LaVine would fit the bill.

The 27-year-old just signed a supermax contract his past summer — 5 years, $215M. But for most of those teams mentioned, they're not afraid to take on that money. And any concerns about any lingering problems with his knee certainly seem to have been put to rest this past month, as LaVine averaged 26.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 14 games.

The two-time All-Star is averaging 23.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 rebounds overall this season, while shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc. His career marks are 20.1 points per game and 38.5% from three.