According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, the Miami Heat are among a few teams that would be interested in trading for the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine if he were to become available.
Although the Heat have been playing much better over the last several weeks after starting 7-11 on the season, there is a general consensus they still need some help if they plan to challenge for an NBA title this season.
“His name has come up in trade speculation, and I’ve reported that there are plenty of teams that, if he’s put on the market – and I preface that with the word ‘if’ – he’s not yet,” wrote Scotto. “If he were to be put on the market, the Knicks, Lakers, Dallas, and Miami are certainly monitoring if he’ll become available or not.”
LaVine is an exciting player who can fill up the basket, whether it’s with a thunderous dunk or a long-range jumper. He is averaging 23.8 points this season while shooting 47.0 percent overall and 39.9 percent from 3-point range.
He would certainly give Miami a shot in the arm in an area it needs tons of help in. The team is currently 25th in offensive rating and last in scoring at only 108.8 points per game.
However, any team that wants LaVine should be concerned about his health. He’s missed ample playing time throughout his career, and his left knee has been troublesome.
“What’s interesting about that to me and other executives I’ve spoken to around the league is there would also be a bit of a question regarding, in their eyes, the health of his knee because if the Bulls just signed him and look to flip him that quickly, it almost raises your antenna a little bit,” Scotto added.
However, if he is healthy, LaVine would give the Heat the type of aggressive scorer they haven’t had in years. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have played well of late, but they haven’t given the team enough firepower to climb the offensive rankings.
Even when they reached the NBA Finals in 2020, the Heat often fell behind in games against the NBA’s elite teams, and they had to huff and puff just to get within striking distance so that Jimmy Butler could do his thing in crunch time.
There is also the question of who Miami would have to give up to get LaVine, who will make about $37 million this season. It would perhaps try to include 36-year-old point guard Kyle Lowry in a deal, but the market for him may be weak given his own big contract and declining production.
