Los Angeles Lakers: Should they pursue Zach LaVine in a trade?
By Zane Harris
What LaVine Would Bring To The Lakers
LaVine is one of the most athletic players in the league. This allows him to be an elite slasher and a player that runs the fast break with ease. This would be a perfect fit for the Lakers that run the fast break frequently and notably make full-court passes to get an easy layup or dunk.
LaVine also is a spark plug for both his teammates and fans. It is safe to say that in a market like Los Angeles, his high flying play style will light up Staples Center and social media alike. He is a great three-pointer as well. This season he is shooting 38% from behind the line. Lastly, LaVine has a great contract for being the third star.
He is set to make 19.5 million for this season and the two following years. There are some drawbacks to LaVine, however. He is a very ball-dominant player which means it could be very difficult to find his touches and let him play his style of basketball with superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the starting lineup.
Possibly, LaVine could end up fitting with the team similarly to Kuzma. Meaning that they are not very effective off the ball so they will have to struggle in the starting lineup or be diminished to a bench role where they can control the offense and have the ball in their hands. Another major downfall of LaVine’s game comes from the defensive side of the ball.
His defensive intensity and overall effort on defense could raise as he would be playing on a contending team with veterans that would hold him accountable. His athletic ability would point to LaVine being able to lock up some of the best players in the league, however, with what he brings on offense and how well the rest of the team performs on defense, the Lakers would only need him to improve to be an above-average defender.
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The final concern with LaVine would be his injury history. Sadly, this is not an aspect of the game that he can control but there is some concern as only being in the league for a short amount of time and he already experienced a very serious injury when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Overall, I believe that if the right trade is made, LaVine would be a great fit for the Lakers and would bring even more excitement and skill to one of the most interesting and best teams in the league.