Chicago Bulls: 5 teams who could pry away Zach LaVine

Los Angeles Lakers

Ah, yes. Finally. You knew it was coming — the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers might just be LaVine’s preferred destination this summer, when it’s all said and done. Obviously, he has said he hopes to remain in Chicago. But, why not go back to Los Angeles? And, why not make it the Lakers, a historic franchise where he could continue a rich legacy of talent?

Well, the Lakers might be set up to land the prize of all free agent prizes this summer. As you know, it’s yet another edition of “The Decision” as LeBron will choose where he plays next.

If, for some reason, the Lakers do not land LeBron, they will look to spend elsewhere of course. With a whopping $59.7 million in cap room this summer, the Lakers can afford to take on more than a max contract — thus the talk of Paul George and LeBron teaming up with Kawhi Leonard.

If all goes right, the Lakers have LeBron for next season and maybe more. If not, LaVine makes a lot of sense. He is the kind of player the Staples Center needs, and in a bad way. That crowd went nuts after an enormous poster by the likes of Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal back in the day. Now, they don’t have that kind of player who can get up and throw down on a consistent basis.

Obviously, LaVine offers more than just some highlight-reel dunks. Like I said, I’m not a fan of paying him a ton of money, but he does give you a relatively good scoring option and someone who can distribute if needed.

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Wherever LaVine winds up, my guess is that it’s going to be due to a large amount of money that the Bulls simply did not want to match in the end. One of these five teams seems likely, but which one will it be?