In a couple of days, the unofficial beginning of the NBA trade season will hit the league. Since a lot is happening for the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s time to unfold the steaming rumors one at a time. Once December 15 hits, most of the players who signed deals with the teams in free agency in the 2023 off-season will become eligible to be traded off.
For the Lakers, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Austin Reaves are the players who might get traded for a more lucrative offer. Furthermore, some players have to wait until January 15 to become trade-eligible; the trade rumors make the wait even sweeter. While the franchise is ambivalent about D’Lo’s run in the playoffs, the trade timeline seems to clash with the wing of the Chicago Bulls.
Zach Lavine, who inked a $215.16 million deal with the Bulls, seems eager to be traded, given the disappointing 9-16 start of the franchise in the 2023–24 season. It’s an open secret that Zach Lavine is a fitter and more capable player than Russell, and the Lakers won’t shrug off the deal with just D’Lo. While the Lakers are looking forward to the trade, it might be possible that the talks won’t reach fruition.
Several executives believe Zach LaVine will be traded to the #Lakers soon, per @ActionNetworkHQ
The #Bulls would be receiving a package around DLo. pic.twitter.com/lk5ASFhUy0
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) December 12, 2023
As the franchise hasn’t put Austin Reaves up for the trade, the trade timelines of D’Lo. Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura don’t match. As per Shams Charania of the Athletic, the Bulls would ask for Reaves along with Russell in exchange for Lavine. Hence, the Lakers might be able to trade off D’Lo, but acquiring Lavine in exchange seems like a far-fetched dream as of now.
Adding to the rhetoric, the massive $40.1 million (this year) that Lavine will make is a tough number for the Lakers to match until January 2024. As Lavine will have to sacrifice the 15% trade kicker to enter the Laker, financial barriers seem to be bigger roadblocks right now.
The Los Angeles Lakers have expressed their interest in Alex Caruso
The trade deadline will hit on February 8, 2024, for the Bulls’ star, Alex Caruso. The Lakers expressed their interest in Caruso last month, i.e., around the end of November. Jovan Buha of The Athletic states that the Lakers now hold three Bulls players under observation for a probable trade. Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach Lavine have climbed that pedestal, while the Bulls seem to be a little hesitant about Caruso’s trade.