As the Chicago Bulls continue to test the waters on a potential trade for Zach LaVine, the star guard has the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers on his list of preferred destinations, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Each of these teams has seen some level of interest in LaVine since the Bulls began shopping him this offseason.
Fischer also said that LaVine “intends to join” the San Antonio Spurs, and that he would also “welcome” a move to the Sacramento Kings.
The Bulls appear ready to begin a rebuild in another mediocre 4-8 start to the season.
Now in his seventh season in Chicago, LaVine no longer considers the Bulls’ roster competitive and wants to play for a true contender for the first time in his career, Fischer said.
Given his three-point accuracy and athleticism, he could potentially be a game-changer for a number of teams.
Los Angeles and Philadelphia appear to be the two most likely destinations on his wish list, as he has ties to Klutch Sports for the former and an arsenal of draft capital for the latter.
LaVine would be a natural third option for the Lakers behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
However, the team may have to wait until Dec. 15 for the Lakers to trade the free agents they signed this offseason, such as D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura, for the $40.1 million cap hit of LaVine to compensate.
Los Angeles may not even have the capital needed to acquire him.
As for the 76ers, they may have the right mix of expiring contracts and draft picks to entice Chicago and replace some of the remaining offense in James Harden’s absence.
LaVine also probably wouldn’t disrupt Tyrese Maxey’s emergence the same way Harden did with his ball dominance.
In addition to these three top contenders, LaVine has also expressed some interest in joining San Antonio to play with generational rookie Victor Wembanyama and reuniting with former Team USA coach Gregg Popovich, with whom he won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
LaVine is averaging 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 40.7% overall and 33.0% from three-point range.
