Quote:StepBackJay
Harden is a guy that calls his own shots so him demanding a trade was a surprise to know once. Is Zach LaVine that type of guy? He doesn't strike me as a guy to do that but I don't follow him super closely. He seems like he will politely decline his extension and then it's in the Bulls court to figure out whether they can keep him by creating a winning team in a hurry or trade him. At the TDL they made a big move to get a second star in Vucevic. That shows you they are not giving up just yet. They can create cap space and also have Lauri as a potential trade chip to try to build a better supporting roster or land a third guy. Bulls do not have any more first round draft picks to trade so they are in a tough spot.
If the time comes to trade LaVine I think it's the Bulls who pull the trigger and while LaVine will have some leverage he doesn't have so much leverage that he can pick the exact team. He will want to go to a playoff team like Dallas but there could be other teams in the mix. Warriors have pieces to trade, Clippers have PG, 76ers have a couple trade options, Celtics have a couple options. Not sure if Pacers or Hornets are good enough to be on LaVine's resign list. Knicks have things they could trade, Raptors, Blazers, maybe Pelicans if LaVine wants to play with Zion. Pels who might lose Lonzo anyway could do a S&T for LaVine with no risk of really losing anything.
From a Mavs perspective I think the best chance you have is probably LaVine going to a team like the Pels and the Pels still missing the playoffs so that he doesn't feel any obligation to stay there. Even if the Mavs are over the cap they could construct a trade to get LaVine in Dallas. That to me is more viable than any trade in the near term.
I guess the only way is if Mavs do a 3-way where KP goes somewhere that brings assets back that Bulls would like. Even then Mavs would probably have to tack on more assets to swing for LaVine.
Every player in the last year of his contract that is guaranteed a max contract offer in free agency calls his own shot. It´s redickulous to thing that in 2021 a FO would still be dumb enough to acquire a player that specifically tells them, that he´ll sign with another team in 12 months.