Zach Lavine #8 of the Chicago Bulls (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
2) LaVine Needs a Change of Scenery. Why Not New York?
Already in his ninth NBA season, LaVine has already had tenures with both the Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. After an 11-19 start to the Bulls’ season, you’d have to think he may be open to a new destination, especially after signing a max contract.
The issue with Chicago’s current situation is it’s a team full of veterans that are expected to click. When the Bulls added former All-Stars in Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, there were championship expectations. That hasn’t gone as planned through the first 29 games this season.
Additionally, there isn’t much to look forward to within the organization. Sure, the team has a couple exciting young players in the defensive-oriented Patrick Williams and explosive Ayo Dosunmu, but there are no rookies or sophomores who are considered to have a “high ceiling.” You also have to add on the fact that in their trade for Vucevic, the Bulls gave Orlando their first-round pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft (top-4 protected).
The bottom line is, if LaVine is to be traded, New York would be a top-tier destination.
First off, Thibodeau has already coached LaVine briefly in Minnesota and could unlock his best defensive potential like he’s known to do with a lot of other guards. Secondly, the Knicks have a young core that plays at an extremely fast pace, which could be an exceptional complement to LaVine’s game.
It doesn’t look like the Bulls are ascending regardless of how you look at it. If LaVine wants to finally make the playoffs for just the second time in his career, a trade to New York would be in his best interest.
That seven-game streak</a> is the second best the Knicks have had since the end of the 2013-2014 season.</p>
<p>While New York is currently enjoying their newfound success led by Tom Thibodeau’s revamped nine-man rotation and much improved team defense, there are still concerns to be had moving forward.</p>
<p>The orange and blue currently rank 26th in the NBA when it comes to 3-point shooting (32.8%) and 25th in overall field goal percentage (45.4%). Defense wins championships, but scoring needs to be existent for a deep playoff run to be remotely possible.</p>
<p>If the Knicks decide they want to bolster their offensive fire power, a name that needs to be looked at is Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who inked a five-year, $215.2 million contract this summer. He’s in the beginning of the prime of his career and <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/18/knicks-make-kyle-kuzma-trade-wizards/">can be that “star”</a> Leon Rose and the rest of the front office has desired so much since they arrived in the Big Apple.</p>
<h2>Here are three reasons the New York Knicks need to trade for Zach LaVine</h2>
<h3><strong>3. LaVine’s 3-Point Shooting and Overall Offensive Abilities </strong></h3>
<p>As made clear in the beginning of this piece, the Knicks are desperate for some 3-point shooting. While throughout their seven game winning streak we’ve seen a recent improvement, they still rank in the bottom five in the entire league in that category.</p>
<p>On the season so far (through 29 games), LaVine is shooting 36.5% from behind the arc. That’s almost 2% worse than his career average of 38.4% and almost 1% better than the league average of 35.6%. No matter which way you look at it, the 27-year-old provides an improvement when it comes to shooting the basketball.</p>
<p>Something that also <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"https://chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2022/12/19/23516884/bulls-zach-lavine-215-million-reasons-behind-disappointing-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">makes LaVine special when it comes to this aspect of the game</a> is that he’s able to create his own shot, particularly off the dribble. In the current Knicks’ offense, there’s a lot of catch-and-shoot action. Since most players in the rotation thrive by getting inside the paint, open shooters will usually emerge when the defense provides a double team. But LaVine excels at getting an open look purely off a one-on-one matchup.</p>
<p>If he comes to NYC, LaVine will also become the most multidimensional offensive player on the team. Already averaging 21.8 points per game (which would be the second most on the Knicks), the UCLA product also averages over four assists and rebounds per contest.</p>
<p>While his shooting would provide the biggest step up for the Knicks offense, his all-around offensive game would be a welcomed complement to the likes of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, both of whom have been the engine behind the Knicks’ winning ways of late.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Chicago is Burning </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-137359 size-full" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F12%2F1450082107.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/12/1450082107.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/12/1450082107-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Zach Lavine #8 of the Chicago Bulls (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3><strong>2) LaVine Needs a Change of Scenery. Why Not New York?</strong></h3>
<p>Already in his ninth NBA season, LaVine has already had tenures with both the Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/269724/Zach-LaVine-Calls-Bulls-Losing-Embarrassing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After an 11-19 start to the Bulls’ season</a>, you’d have to think he may be open to a new destination, especially after signing a max contract.</p>
<p>The issue with Chicago’s current situation is it’s a team full of veterans that are expected to click. When the Bulls added former All-Stars in Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, there were championship expectations. That hasn’t gone as planned through the first 29 games this season.</p>
<p>Additionally, there isn’t much to look forward to within the organization. Sure, the team has a couple exciting young players in the defensive-oriented Patrick Williams and explosive Ayo Dosunmu, but there are no rookies or sophomores who are considered to have a “high ceiling.” You also have to add on the fact that in their trade for Vucevic, the Bulls gave Orlando their first-round pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft (top-4 protected).</p>
<p>The bottom line is, if LaVine is to be traded, New York would be a top-tier destination.</p>
<p>First off, Thibodeau has already coached LaVine briefly in Minnesota and could unlock his best defensive potential like he’s known to do with a lot of other guards. Secondly, the Knicks have a young core that plays at an extremely fast pace, which could be an exceptional complement to LaVine’s game.</p>
<p>It doesn’t look like the Bulls are ascending regardless of how you look at it. If LaVine wants to finally make the playoffs for just the second time in his career, a trade to New York would be in his best interest.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Time for Knicks to Finish the Job </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-137360 size-full" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F12%2F1449227742.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/12/1449227742.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/12/1449227742-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks greets Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3><strong>1. The Knicks Get Their Star</strong></h3>
<p>Ever since the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony went their separate ways via trade right before the 2017-2018 season, the team has been in a constant search for that illustrious big-time player — a guy that’ll not only help pack Madison Square Garden for 41+ games a year, but one who will help stack the win column on a yearly basis.</p>
<p>A large part of the NBA community thought Donovan Mitchell would be the answer before he ended up going to Cleveland, and that “miss” was chalked up as another failure by New York’s front office. Mitchell aside, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/22/ny-knicks-rumors-zach-lavine-trade-deadline-target/2/"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10059278-nba-rumors-zach-lavine-bulls-not-seeing-eye-to-eye-palpable-disconnect-felt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LaVine has a chance to be the guy</a> the Knicks have been waiting to acquire for years.</p>
<p>While LaVine is certainly no Carmelo Anthony and is probably not on Donovan Mitchell’s level right now, you could certainly argue he’d be the best player to take the stage as a home player at The Mecca.</p>
<p>Let’s be honest for a second. While this current winning streak is impressive and it’s awesome to see the team getting respect across the league, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Knicks are able to go on a deep playoff run with the current roster. While adding LaVine doesn’t make you an immediate contender, it makes you a much more formidable foe.</p>
<p>Obviously, logistics need to be considered regarding this trade. If this goes down, we could see New York’s 2019 third overall pick in RJ Barrett be sent to Chicago, in a deal featuring two guys who signed extensions this summer. Either way, if the price is right, it’s hard to not see this move as eye candy for the front office.</p>
<p>It certainly isn’t a guarantee that the Knicks make a blockbuster move like this prior to the trade deadline on Feb. 9, but if something does happen, make sure you remember LaVine as a potential option.</p>
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