NBA Rumors: Mavs Could Get Zach LaVine From Bulls For Tim Hardaway Jr. & Draft Picks, Per ‘Pippen Ain’t Easy’
In the aftermath of rumors suggesting that the Dallas Mavericks might be interested in trading for Zach LaVine, a recent list of trade ideas suggested that the team could acquire the high-scoring Chicago Bulls guard for a package centered on Tim Hardaway Jr.
According to Fansided’s Pippen Ain’t Easy, the main “problem” with hypothetical transactions involving LaVine and the Mavericks is not salary matching, but rather the lack of a “true valuable trade chip” that Dallas could offer Chicago in order to acquire the 25-year-old. As such, the publication pointed out that the Mavs would need to move some future draft picks to sweeten the deal — in this case, offering a package including Hardaway, the No. 18 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and two future first-rounders.
As further explained by Pippen Ain’t Easy, Hardaway is probably the only Mavericks player that the organization would have no problem shipping to another team so they can match LaVine’s salary. During the 2019-20 season, the second-generation star averaged 15.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while proving to be a fairly effective “volume shooter” who converted on 43.4 percent of his attempts from the field and made 39.8 percent of his shots from three-point range.
Should the proposed deal push forward, LaVine should give the Mavericks a “big three” of its own, with LaVine teaming up with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The former first-round selection averaged a career-best 25.5 points per game in 2019-20, adding 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game and shooting 45 percent from the field, per Basketball-Reference.
LaVine was one of three players mentioned by Kevin O’Connor in The Ringer’s latest preview for the 2020 NBA Draft as a possible offseason acquisition for the Mavericks. According to O’Connor, Dallas is in the market for a “secondary playmaking presence” to support Doncic and is also considering making a move for Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets and Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers. He added that if the Mavs are unable to acquire any of these individuals, they could use their 18th overall choice on a three-and-D prospect.
Aside from the Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers have also been mentioned as a possible destination for LaVine if the Bulls agree to ship him elsewhere. It was recently proposed that the Lakers could offer Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma — whose names have popped up in various trade rumors in recent days — as well as their 2020 and 2022 first-round picks in a deal that would bring the incoming seven-year veteran to Los Angeles.
