The the reason why the Los Angeles Lakers would need LaVine are apparent.

He’s the highest free agent available on the market this summer time, an enormous issue for a proud franchise that likes to make large splashes, he’s represented by Klutch, the identical company as LeBron James and Anthony Davis and he’d present an enormous enhance to a Lakers staff that ranked twenty second league-wide in factors per 100 possessions final season.

LaVine ranked within the 79th percentile in isolation scoring final season, producing 1.02 factors per possession (PPP) on these alternatives whereas the Lakers had been thirteenth in the identical play kind, proving what a necessity the membership has for a one-on-one scorer like LaVine, who’d assist take a number of the offensive load off of James.

What’s extra, LaVine has even not too long ago mentioned rising up as a Lakers fan (via TMZ):

Zach LaVine – who starred at UCLA earlier than getting drafted #13 total in 2014 – hit up Craig’s in West Hollywood together with his spouse, Hunter … and after chowing down on some grub, the cameras needed to ask him about his future. The two-time Slam Dunk champ initially performed it cool … explaining his look shouldn’t be a giant deal, contemplating he lives in L.A. When requested to provide a message to Laker Nation, LaVine’s response is sufficient to give followers a glimmer of hope. “I’ve all the time been a giant fan,” he mentioned as he hopped in his Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.

So far as how this may work financially, that half will get a bit extra tough.

Per our salary-cap skilled Yossi Gozlan, the one possible way for the Lakers to efficiently sign-and-trade for Zach LaVine is that if Russell Westbrook is included within the deal, or he’s wage dumped beforehand.

It’s because sign-and-trading for a free company like LaVine would topic the Lakers to the $156 million laborious cap, which the Lakers would want to remain under with no less than 14 gamers. By changing Westbrook’s $47.1 million quantity with LaVine’s projected $36.6 million beginning wage, they will nonetheless fill out the remainder of the roster round him, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the remainder of the gamers presently beneath contract.

The one drawback is that the Lakers can be restricted to signing minimal gamers the remainder of the way in which, which means they’ll be taking a look at one other season with 9-10 minimal gamers on the roster. It’s laborious to see the Lakers being contenders with the vast majority of the roster being minimal gamers once more.

Tough however considerably possible.