November 14, 2023
As reported by Shams Charania Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Bulls and star guard Zach LaVine are both open to the idea of putting together a trade centered around the two-time All-Star. As Chicago stands at a disappointing 4-7, major changes seem inevitable.
LaVine, who turns 29 in March, has averaged 25.0 points per game since the start of the 2018-19 season in well over 300 contests. Does that make him worthy of being the final piece of the Sixers' puzzle?
The argument for LaVine is pretty cut and dry: he is an extremely gifted scorer, a true three-level threat whose excellent shot-making and interior abilities make him one of the more versatile guard scorers in the NBA. The Sixers are a team often linked to score-first players on the trade market, and LaVine is as score-first as it gets.
That, however, is part of the issue. LaVine is focused on scoring to a fault: his playmaking is very limited for someone who spends so much time with the ball in his hands. His decision-making is suspect, to say the least. While he would clearly make the Sixers a better team, how much better would he actually make them?
The likely answer: not enough. In order to justify not just trading a valuable collection of assets for LaVine, but also paying the last four years of his massive five-year, $215 million contract, the Sixers must be sure he catapults them into instant, no-doubt championship contender status. Nothing about LaVine's resume suggests he is that good, however.
LaVine has dealt with injury problems in many of the past several seasons, which also detracts from his value. While he has been mostly healthy in each of the last two years, logging 144 combined games, he averaged just 51.2 games per season in the four prior years. With Joel Embiid already presenting injury risks himself, the Sixers should be looking for the most reliable, iron-man type of player possible. LaVine may not be that.
LaVine would be optimized by playing with another elite perimeter creator who could allow him to be weaponized away from the ball and then at times assert himself as an on-ball threat. While Embiid is a brilliant scorer in his own right, he is not that type of creator. LaVine may fit better with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, for example, another rumored potential landing spot.
There is no question that a high-volume, slightly-above league-average perimeter scorer has value. But the most important point against LaVine for the Sixers is this: what if they already have a better option? The season is young, but Tyrese Maxey may have already surpassed LaVine's quality. Maxey is an equally skilled shot-maker who is also adept at scoring in the paint. He is also rapidly improving as a playmaker, with a considerably better chance of ever being considered a true point guard. LaVine has proven time and time again that he is not that player, while Maxey is on a trajectory towards that status. This is all without mentioning that Maxey, 23, is nearly six years younger than LaVine, and even with a payday coming next summer, will be considerably cheaper moving forward. Maxey continues to trend upwards, while LaVine's regression will almost certainly begin before his current contract expires.
In a vacuum, LaVine may make some sense for the Sixers. But when looking at the prospect of a partnership between the two under a microscope, it becomes clear that there are far too many causes for concern for the team to feel it is justifiable to invest as many assets and dollars as it would cost them. LaVine is a good player, but for the Sixers, he likely is not the answer.
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