How could the Lakers bring in Zach LaVine?

The Los Angeles Lakers had been leaning toward steering away from hiring players and resolve any injury problems they have internally with the players they already have on the roster. Max Christie’s improvement in recent games and the eventual debut of rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino, who is recovering from a knee injury, would have inclined the franchise not to make any moves this winter.

But the painful 138-94 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night would have made management rethink that position according to a report from The Athletic. Journalist Shams Charania revealed that the Lakers will most likely express new interest in hiring Zach LaVine.

Interest in Zach LaVine renewed

The problem is that the guard is under contract with the Chicago Bulls and although he made public his desire to leave, his salary may be an impediment for him to move elsewhere. LaVine earns around $40 million per season and the only way to bring him to Los Angeles would be through a player exchange.

That effectively means that the Lakers would have to include Austin Reaves in the negotiations because D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura cannot be traded until mid-January. LaVine is very interested in playing with the Lakers and they are one of five teams for which he would leave the Chicago Bulls in this NBA market.

But according to an initial report, the Lakers would not be willing to bring in the shooting guard because they want to focus on the young players they have on the current roster. LaVine is being very productive at this start of the season, averaging 22.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the 17 games he has played with the Bulls. The Lakers will have until 8 February to make a decision before trading closes.