Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine heading to the Western Conference?

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Another piece in the Zach LaVine puzzle this summer has been added to the recent reports. Is he headed West?

The Chicago Bulls know they have a huge decision to make this summer. Free-agent-to-be guard Zach LaVine possesses the “restricted” label, so any offer he receives from another team could be matched by Chicago.

At one point, it was said that the Bulls were ready to match any offer made to LaVine, in order to keep him part of the young core featuring Lauri Markkanen, Bobby Portis and Kris Dunn. After adding Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison to the mix, LaVine does add some intrigue to whether or not the Bulls will be ready to compete for a playoff spot in the short term.

Real quickly, it sure does look like LaVine has put that knee injury aside and is busy making those average Joes look quite silly.

Now, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls are about to take a “wait and see” approach to LaVine’s situation. Also per Johnson, the Bulls are ready for at least one team in the Western Conference to make an offer.

This is quite interesting, as I recently speculated over five teams who could pry LaVine away from Chicago — and that includes three teams from the West. The ones that make the most sense, though, are both franchises who call Staples Center their home.

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have more than enough cap space (the Lakers have more than any other team in the league) to sign LaVine — even if it were to come down to a max deal. Obviously, the debate then becomes whether he’s worth that kind of money. If you have followed our work here, you know none of us are on board with that notion.

If not a Los Angeles team, though, who would it be? The Dallas Mavericks? Maybe the Memphis Grizzlies, who are still looking to shed Chandler Parsons‘ salary in hopes they can add some more talent for a playoff push next season.

Next: Pro comparisons for Bulls' draft picks

Whoever the team is, I can only hope they offer a max deal — then it should be a no-brainer for the Bulls to wave goodbye.