Zach LaVine Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Fischer: Zach LaVine Hopes To Stay With Bulls Past Deadline

January 24th, 2025 at 9:24am CST by Rory Maher

Bulls wing Zach LaVine has been a prominent name in the NBA rumor mill for multiple seasons. While he and the team reportedly had a mutual desire to see LaVine traded out of Chicago in 2023/24, evidently the two-time All-Star has had a change of heart.

Sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) that LaVine now prefers to remain a Bull past the February 6 deadline. Still, while LaVine may not be pushing to be dealt, he doesn’t have control over his future.

As Fischer writes, the Bulls are incentivized to tank down the stretch so they can keep their 2025 first-round pick, which is top-10 protected. If that selection lands outside of the top 10 — Chicago currently has the ninth-worst record in the league at 19-25 — it would convey to San Antonio.

If they’re unable to land Jimmy Butler, the Suns could have interest in trying to trade Bradley Beal for LaVine, sources tell Fischer. I’m pretty skeptical that the Bulls would go for that even if Phoenix attaches multiple first-round picks to Beal and his no trade-clause, but it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Of course, Beal would have to approve the deal too, which is far from a given.

LaVine has also been floated as a possibility to be included in a multi-team mega-trade involving both Beal and Butler, though that scenario is extremely complex.

LaVine, 29, has had a strong bounce-back season in ’24/25 after missing most of last season with a foot injury that required surgery. Through 40 games (34.0 minutes), he’s averaging 24.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest, with an excellent shooting slash line of .513/.451/.812.

Head coach Billy Donovan has praised LaVine multiple times this season for his positive attitude, willingness to accept change, his on-court play, and his off-court leadership.

Although they have yet to make an in-season trade, the Bulls have displayed a willingness to discuss just about everyone on their roster, according to Fischer. Rival executives have described Chicago’s front office as “seeking change,” per Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link), though it’s unclear what that means beyond some sort of roster shake-up.

Likelihood Of Suns Acquiring Jimmy Butler Increasing?

January 22nd, 2025 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

After the Suns made a trade on Tuesday to turn their unprotected 2031 first-round pick into three separate first-rounders in 2025, 2027, and 2029, a source close to Jimmy Butler told The Athletic that there’s “rising optimism” the Heat star is closer to being traded to his preferred destination in Phoenix.

As we outlined earlier today, even though the Suns’ 2031 first-round pick was easily the most valuable of any of the four draft assets involved in their trade with Utah, breaking up that pick into three future first-rounders puts Phoenix in a better position to offer sweeteners to multiple trade partners, which will likely be necessary.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link) believes that as many as five teams would be involved if the Suns are able to eventually work out a deal for Butler.

The Bucks continue to be identified by rival executives as a team worth watching as a facilitator in the Butler talks, according to The Athletic’s reporters, including Sam Amick, Tony Jones, and Jon Krawczynski. There’s a belief that Milwaukee is exploring the idea of reducing its payroll to duck below the second apron while aggregating salaries to bring in another maximum-salary star.

Marc Stein suggested earlier this week that the Bucks could be a team to keep an eye on for Suns guard Bradley Beal, who would almost certainly need to be sent to a third team in any Phoenix trade for Butler, waiving his no-trade clause in the process.

The Athletic’s reporters also mention Zach LaVine as the type of player who might appeal to Milwaukee, though if the Bulls star were involved in any Butler/Beal scenario, it would have to expand into an even larger, more complex deal.

For the time being, Butler continues to take the floor for the Heat, though the six-time All-Star had another underwhelming outing on Tuesday vs. Portland, with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes — he didn’t play in the fourth quarter and Miami was outscored by 19 points during his time on the floor.

Shams Charania of ESPN, who reported last week that Butler reiterated his trade request during a meeting with president of basketball operations Pat Riley, tweeted on Tuesday night that the veteran forward has since “tripled down” on that request to Riley and team owner Micky Arison.

Bulls Notes: Buzelis, White, LaVine, Ball

January 20th, 2025 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis has committed to the Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend, joining Spurs guard Stephon Castle as the two players confirmed to participating in the event so far, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Buzelis is the first Bulls player since Tyrus Thomas in 2007 to commit to the dunk contest. He’ll be the fifth Bulls player to participate in the contest, joining Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Orlando Woolridge and Thomas, Chris Kwiecinski of Fox23Chicago.com relays.

We have more on the Bulls:

Coby White is scheduled to have imaging done on his injured right ankle on Tuesday during an off day in Los Angeles, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. White came up limping in the late going of Sunday’s loss to Portland, Johnson adds in another tweet.
Zach LaVine carried an upbeat attitude into the season and it’s reflected in his play, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. LaVine came into Monday’s contest against the Clippers averaging 28.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in January. He has also been a positive influence off the court, according to coach Billy Donovan. “He’s been great in the locker room, he’s been great off the court, he’s been great with our guys,” Donovan said. “I can’t tell you there’s been numerous times this year where he’s come into my office and said to me, ‘Hey, I feel like this player is struggling a little bit. Is there anything I can talk to them about?'”
With White and Ayo Dosunmu out (injury management) on Monday, Lonzo Ball received his second start of the season, the team tweets. Ball, who is on an expiring contract, was making his 23rd appearance this season after missing two-and-a-half seasons due to knee issues.

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Ball, Williams, Donovan

January 15th, 2025 at 11:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Although Bulls swingman Zach LaVine is in the midst of a career year, the two-time All-Star’s teammates feel he is getting short shrift from national media and fans, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.

“I don’t understand it,” guard Lonzo Ball said. “(He’s) definitely a top-three shooting guard in the NBA right now. I don’t understand why people talk down on him. He’s a true professional.”

Bulls guard Coby White, LaVine’s longest-tenured Chicago teammate, believes LaVine’s excellence has been under-appreciated for the entirety of their partnership.

“He’s been overlooked since I’ve been here,” White told Poe.

LaVine is shooting with remarkable efficiency as the top scorer on the 18-23 Bulls. Through 36 games, the 29-year-old is averaging 23.8 points per game on a .516/.455/.807 slash line. He’s also chipping in 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per night.

Poe notes that Chicago has had just three games on national television this year, which could be partly to blame for why LaVine has been somewhat unheralded in 2024/25.

“Unfortunately, sometimes it’s out of sight, out of mind,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “When guys are not necessarily out there all the time, it’s hard. You’re not really watching them or seeing them or thinking about them.”

There’s more out of Chicago:

Ball, meanwhile, has been impressive in his first healthy stretch since 2021/22, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Following three surgeries to address a recurring knee issue, he is finally back in action for Chicago, on a minutes limit. Cowley notes, however, that Ball is now consistently playing more minutes off the bench. “I didn’t know what to expect [of Ball] because a lot of the workouts that I watched were one-on-one, and I didn’t see him play five-on-five,’’ Donovan said of Ball’s gradual return ahead of the season. ‘‘I got pretty optimistic when training camp started. I was able to see he was running and doing the things he was doing. He [just] needed to get his timing back.”
Bulls forward Patrick Williams has been only sporadically available to Donovan this season. When Williams does hit the floor, the head coach wants to see steadier production from the fifth-year wing out of Florida, Cowley notes in another Sun-Times story. “My expectations for him, even in my conversations with him, is, and this is going to be kind of a broad statement, but you got to feel him out there,” Donovan said. “That’s not necessarily scoring. He’s shot the ball pretty well. You gotta feel him on the glass, feel him in transition, feel him with the activity with his hands, feel him at the rim. That. I think he’s capable of doing that. That’s really been the message more than anything else, of him getting his body size, physicality into the game.”
Williams inked a five-year, $90MM deal as a restricted free agent to stay with Chicago long-term over the summer. On Wednesday, he became trade-eligible.

Eastern Notes: Embiid, Butler, LaVine, Valanciunas

January 11th, 2025 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Joel Embiid missed a third consecutive game on Friday due to a sprained left foot, but head coach Nick Nurse said the team doesn’t believe the issue will be a long-term concern, suggesting the big man could be back in action as early as Sunday, per Dan Gelston of The Associated Press.

Still, Embiid’s availability has been spotty all season. He has played in more than two consecutive games just twice, appearing in 13 total contests out of Philadelphia’s 36. The 76ers are 7-2 in the last nine games Embiid has played, but his frequent appearances on the injury report – along with a handful of other health issues affecting players up an down the roster – have hindered the club’s ability to build chemistry and momentum.

“It’s difficult with guys in and out of the lineup,” point guard Tyrese Maxey said, according to Gelston. “As soon as we get some continuity, as soon as we get flowing, guys miss (games). It’s really difficult. Guys have to kind of change their roles every single night. That puts pressure on us, man. We miss Jo, we miss Paul (George), we miss KJ (Martin). It’s hard to win in this league when you’re not healthy.”

The Sixers’ loss on Friday to a 7-31 New Orleans team missing Zion Williamson was one of their most discouraging defeats of the season. Philadelphia is now 15-21 and is two games back of the Bulls for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Here’s more from around the East:

After former Heat star Tim Hardaway Sr. said during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter video link) that Miami gave the NBPA a 10-page document and film to back up their assertion that Jimmy Butler engaged in conduct detrimental to the team, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets that he can’t confirm that specific claim. However, Jackson does say that the team was careful in documenting the incidents that led to the seven-game suspension, which is reportedly being challenged by the players’ union.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine is having one of the best seasons of his career and has been even better since the calendar flipped to January, averaging 32.8 points per game on .598/.424/.786 shooting in his first five games of 2025. It hasn’t led to any movement on the trade front though, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who checks in on where things stand with LaVine and notes that it will probably be hard for Chicago to trade the two-time All-Star until there’s more clarity on what’s happening with Butler.
Speaking to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, veteran center Jonas Valanciunas admitted it has been a “very tough” season in Washington, where the Wizards have an NBA-worst 6-30 record. “I want to win,” he said. “But the situation is what it is, and while I’m in it, I have to do everything I can to improve it. … Winning teams don’t become like that overnight.” Although he’s in the first season of a three-year contract, Valanciunas is considered a candidate to be dealt out of D.C. ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. He told Urbonas that he’s only focused on what he can control on the court. “The agents’, general managers’, and team presidents’ jobs are off the court,” the big man said. “I leave everything to them.”

Central Notes: Cunningham, LaVine, Vucevic, Bryant, Horton-Tucker, Middleton

January 9th, 2025 at 10:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

The surprising Pistons have won five straight games heading into their matchup against Golden State on Thursday. After his team defeated the Nets on Wednesday, Cade Cunningham told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic that it’s just the start of the franchise’s turnaround.

“It feels good,” said Cunningham, who signed a maximum-salary rookie scale extension last summer. “We’re still hungry though, man. We’re not satisfied. It is a satisfying feeling, but we’re not satisfied at all.”

We have more from the Central Division:

The Bulls may be looking to deal Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic but their head coach believes both players should receive All-Star consideration despite the team’s mediocre record, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “You get a chance to see those guys play every night and there’s no question in my mind, just based on what these guys have performed through – whatever it is 35 or 36 games – they have performed at an All-Star level,” Billy Donovan said. “Both of those two have. I think the stats will back that up.” LaVine and Vucevic are the team’s top scorers, averaging a combined 43.5 points per game.
With Myles Turner sidelined by an illness, Thomas Bryant pumped in a season-high 22 points with eight rebounds in the Pacers’ win over Chicago on Wednesday. “He was great,” coach Rick Carlisle told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “He played efficient. He played smart. He seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. He had a couple of important putbacks in key moments of the game. He brings a real positive energy just as a person out there too along with being a heck of a player. … I don’t know that we win the game without him.” Bryant was traded by Miami to Indiana in mid-December.
Talen Horton-Tucker‘s veteran’s minimum contract with the Bulls becomes fully guaranteed on Friday. Horton-Tucker – who has received steady rotation minutes, appearing in 30 games off the bench and averaging 6.3 points – says he’s grateful that he’ll be sticking around. “It’s a blessing to be here the rest of the season,” he said, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). “I’m excited to get to work and hope to be here as long as possible.”
Bucks forward Khris Middleton believes that his reserve role is only temporary, he told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I mean, I know what type of player I am,” he said. “Just for the time being I need to come off the bench. It is what it is. But I’m confident in this team, I’m confident in myself and this is the role I have to play for the time being.” Coach Doc Rivers says it has more to do with Middleton’s health than anything else. “He’s not starting (Wednesday), but more just the minute thing,” Rivers said. “He keeps getting the tendinitis (in his ankle). It’s just not improving to the place he wants it or we want it. So we’re just going to monitor and cut his minutes back a little bit and try to makes sure he can get through this.”

Bulls Notes: White, Donsunmu, LaVine, Ball

December 31st, 2024 at 7:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are among the Bulls players who could be moved by the trade deadline, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. While most trade rumors involving the team tend to focus on Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball, Cowley notes that Chicago will be spending a lot of money on its backcourt next season if the current roster stays together.

White is currently making $12MM and is owed $12.9MM next year, which is a team-friendly contract for a player who just finished second in the Most Improved Player voting. There may be a market for him as well as Dosunmu, who is earning $7MM this season and $7.5MM in 2025/26. Cowley notes that if LaVine stays and Josh Giddey gets re-signed, the Bulls could be spending more than $70MM on their starting backcourt.

‘‘I don’t tend to worry about it because it’s completely out of everyone’s hands besides the front office,’’ White said. ‘‘Since I’ve been in the league, teams have totally changed. Me and Zach are the only ones still on the team [from my rookie year], so I’ve seen what it’s like to have your whole team shipped out. I’ve seen what it’s like to have a different head coach from when I started, a different front office. So it’s just business, and I had to learn that. And it’s one of those lessons you better learn quickly.’’

There’s more from Chicago:

LaVine took off his left sock to show reporters the toe injury that forced him to miss Monday’s game at Charlotte and quell any speculation that he might be sitting out due to an impending trade, Cowley states in a separate story. LaVine vowed to be ready for Wednesday’s contest at Washington, but the team will see how he feels during shootaround before making a decision.
White believes the up-tempo style that coach Billy Donovan adopted this year will be a selling point for free agents this summer, Cowley adds. “I think it’s attractive because it’s kind of moving to the modern-day NBA,” White said. “The pace we play at, the amount of threes we shoot, the amount of freedom everybody has, I think any basketball player would want to play in this system. Who doesn’t want to play fast, get up and down, get open shots, be able to attack in transition and then have the freedom to make plays offensively where everybody gets the ball and has opportunities? I think it has really been working for us.”
Ball is still restricted to a maximum of 20 minutes per game and isn’t permitted to play on back-to-back nights, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. A sprained wrist he suffered early in the season, along with an illness, have kept the minutes restriction in place longer than expected, but Donovan indicated that Ball’s role may increase in January. “I can do a lot in 20 minutes,” Ball said. “Obviously I want to play more, but we’ve got to be smart. It’s gonna be a slow process. I knew that. I just want to play.” The doctor he consulted suggested surgery on the wrist, but Ball wasn’t willing to consider that option after missing more than two full years due to repeated knee issues.

Scotto’s Latest: C. Johnson, Nuggets, Bulls, Ingram, Pelicans, Poeltl

December 31st, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The “growing belief” around the NBA that it will take more than one first-round pick to pry forward Cameron Johnson away from the Nets due to his strong play this season and the team-friendly descending/flat structure of his contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Johnson has base salaries of $22.5MM this season, $20.5MM in 2025/26, and $22.5MM in ’26/27.

However, Johnson’s deal also includes significant unlikely incentives of $4.5MM this season, $4.1MM next season, and $4.5MM in ’26/27. Those incentives count against the apron, complicating matters for a potential suitor right up against a hard cap, such as the Warriors.

Golden State and Brooklyn discussed Johnson before agreeing to their Dennis Schröder trade, but those conversations were always considered exploratory and Jonathan Kuminga‘s name wasn’t part of them, says Scotto. Among Pacific playoff hopefuls, the Kings may be a more serious suitor for Johnson, having long expressed interest in him, Scotto notes.

Here are a few more interesting tidbits from Scotto:

There’s “growing pessimism” that the Nuggets and Bulls will make a deal centered around Zach LaVine and Michael Porter Jr., league sources tell HoopsHype. As Scotto explains, Chicago doesn’t want to take on Zeke Nnaji‘s four-year contract and doesn’t want to have to give up assets to get a third team to take it. However, Denver may have to include Nnaji for salary-matching purposes and might not have the draft capital necessary to incentivize a third team to acquire him.
Confirming a previous report that the Jazz and Pelicans briefly discussed Brandon Ingram before he made it clear he didn’t want to sign long-term in Utah, Scotto says the two teams “kicked around” the idea of a package that would’ve included John Collins and draft compensation before talks fizzled out.
Scotto also confirms that the Pelicans will look to duck out of luxury tax territory by moving a player or two prior to February 6. Assuming New Orleans is able to open up a roster spot and has enough room below the tax line, the team would like to promote two-way player Brandon Boston to its standard roster, Scotto adds.
Although Toronto hasn’t made starting center Jakob Poeltl via trade, teams around the NBA are monitoring the situation in case that stance changes before February 6, Scotto writes. The Raptors believe Poeltl, who is under contract through at least 2026, fits with their young core, according to Scotto, who suggests an inflection point could come this summer, when the big man becomes extension-eligible again.
In case you missed it, we rounded up a few more of Scotto’s latest rumors in a separate story focused on Pacific teams.

Kings Notes: Trade Talks, Brown, Fox, Carter

December 30th, 2024 at 4:21pm CST by Rory Maher

As the Kings began to slide down the Western Conference standings over the past several weeks, the front office contemplated making smaller trades “just to change things up,” and also discussed larger deals involving Bulls wing Zach LaVine, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Nets guard Cam Thomas, and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, league sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

According to Shelburne, the Kings consulted with former head coach Mike Brown on whether to make roster or coaching staff changes prior to parting ways with the 2023 Coach of the Year.

“Nobody wanted to fire Mike,” one Kings source told Shelburne. “He’s a good coach. People here really care about him. Until the very last moment we were trying to make it work.”

Sources tell Shelburne that general manager Monte McNair, assistant GM Wes Wilcox, team president Matina Kolokotronis and owner Vivek Ranadive had “several calls and meetings” to discuss Brown’s future with the organization during Sacramento’s recent 0-5 homestand. McNair ultimately called Brown to inform him of the decision as Brown was driving to the airport to board a team flight to L.A. — the timing and execution of the move drew criticism from around the NBA.

After speaking to Brown, McNair and Wilcox called De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis to let them know, but none were consulted beforehand, Shelburne reports.

Shelburne also confirms a report from The Athletic stating that Kings players had grown weary of Brown publicly bashing the team in post-game press conferences.

For what it’s worth, Marc Stein writes that it’s a “struggle to find anyone around the league” who thinks the firing of Brown was justified (Substack link).

Here’s more on the Kings:

There has been some speculation that Fox may have been unhappy with Brown, in part because of the way the veteran coach criticized him for committing a disastrous foul in the closing seconds of Thursday’s loss to Detroit, but the former All-Star tells Shelburne he enjoys being coached hard and was on good terms with Brown. “I feel like there’s this perception that people thought that we were at odds,” Fox says. “You can ask anybody in this organization: me and Mike have never even had an argument. We could disagree with something. We talked about it and it was gone.”
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, there have been “grumblings in NBA circles” suggesting that Fox will ask to be traded before the February 6 deadline. With that in mind, Pincus comes up with a hypothetical deal that sees Fox land with the Rockets.
Rookie guard Devin Carter made his NBA G League debut with the Stockton Kings on Saturday and was recalled prior to Sunday’s matchup with the Lakers, though he didn’t end up playing in what would have been a back-to-back (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento). Still, it’s obviously a positive development, as Carter is inching closer to making his NBA regular season debut following offseason shoulder surgery.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Kuminga, Lakers, Hayes, LeBron

December 28th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns remain short-handed for tonight’s game against Golden State, but they may be close to having a full lineup fairly soon, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. While Devin Booker is missing his fifth straight game with a left groin strain he suffered last week, coach Mike Budenholzer is optimistic that Booker won’t be out much longer. Phoenix has lost three of its last four games without the star guard.

“He’s making good progress,” Budenholzer told reporters before Friday’s game at Dallas. “We feel good about it. He’s still got a little more to go, but he’s progressing as expected.”

Budenholzer added that Grayson Allen is “close” to being ready as he misses his fourth straight game tonight while in concussion protocol. Bol Bol is sitting out a fifth straight game with a contusion that he suffered when he banged knees with a teammate during practice.

The Suns are also without center Jusuf Nurkic, who is serving a three-game suspension for an altercation in Friday’s game. Budenholzer addressed the incident in a pregame session with the media (Twitter link from Rankin), saying it’s dangerous when players continue trying to fight after being ejected.

“You never want these things to even escalate to probably the point that it did,” he said. “The concern about any other continued situations is not good for anybody.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Even though the Warriors lost to the Clippers on Friday night, Jonathan Kuminga turned in one of the best games of his career, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Kuminga posted a career-high 34 points, along with 10 rebounds and five assists, and led a late rally that made the game close. Although the Warriors were short-handed with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both nursing injuries, Kuminga continued to come off the bench as coach Steve Kerr used his 18th different starting lineup of the season.
The first 30 games have shown that the Lakers don’t need to make a desperation trade for Zach LaVine, contends Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Swanson views the team’s major needs as a three-and-D wing and a reliable backup center, and recommends pursuing Jazz big man Walker Kessler.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, who has only been active for one of the past 21 games because of an ankle injury, has been able to play five-on-five in practice, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Hayes hopes to be ready for Tuesday’s game against Cleveland if the ankle continues to improve.
Lakers star LeBron James will miss tonight’s game with an illness that also forced him to skip Friday’s practice, McMenamin adds (Twitter link). Gabe Vincent is taking his place in the starting lineup.