The Los Angeles Lakers are, for the most part, done making moves for the 2021-22 season. The team still has two more roster spots to fill after signing Rajon Rondo, one of which will likely be filled before the season with the other being saved for an in-season move.
Even then, those two roster spots are not going to be overly impactful as they will be used on players that likely won’t get much playing time and will instead be a depth option. The big moves are over.
However, part of the job of being a general manager is not only looking at the immediate needs of the team, but the future needs and moves as well. And while we do not want to overlook the upcoming 2021-22 season, it is impossible to ignore the fact that Zach Lavine’s odds of being a future Laker just went up.
LaVine is entering a contract year with the Chicago Bulls and it was reported on Monday that he is parting ways with his former agency and is signing with Klutch Sports. You know, the same Klutch Sports that is essentially made up of LeBron’s buddies. The same Klutch Sports that signed Anthony Davis to help him force his way to LA.
Zach LaVine joining Klutch Sports lays the foundation for him to join the Los Angeles Lakers in the future.
The entire idea of what the Los Angeles Lakers are currently doing is to win as many titles in this current window with LeBron James and then transition to Anthony Davis being the face of the team after LeBron and bringing in another star that can contend with Davis.
While Davis is nowhere close to being Kobe Bryant, it is essentially the same formula. Win with the superstar, stay when that superstar leaves (in this case, gets old) and then contend with another star. If the Lakers play their cards right, Davis could win three or four championships with the Lakers.
Perhaps that future star is Zach LaVine. Their play styles certainly complement each other and LaVine has really taken a step up in his game. He is still only 26 years old, so there is plenty of time for this to happen.
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There is little to no chance that the Lakers bring LaVine in next offseason. The team would essentially have to get the Bulls to do a sign-and-trade and send Russell Westbrook in return. That is likely not happening as Chicago would not want to take that deal.
However, LaVine can agree to his big deal with Chicago, play out two more seasons with the Bulls and then eventually force his way out as every star does. At that point he will only have one more year left on his deal plus a player option, so Chicago would be more likely to say yes.
LeBron will be on a new contract that will likely be a cheaper deal (or perhaps he signs one-year contracts at a time) and the Lakers could start dipping into the draft capital after the Anthony Davis trade to get the deal done. The team would have to have matching contracts to make this happen but that can easily be done.
Russell Westbrook’s contract is off the books next season, as is LeBron’s. The team can bring in several upper-level role players, re-sign LeBron using Bird Rights and then trade those upper-level role players and draft capital for Lavine prior to the 2024-25 season.
Yes, that feels like a long time in the future, but that is often how these things work. Lay the foundation now and work years in advance.
Is it a guarantee? Not even close. It is a guarantee, though, that they will eventually look to add another star to the roster to keep Anthony Davis around and it is a known fact that Klutch Sports is very influential in the league and helping out LeBron, and now Anthony Davis.
It might never happen, but it sure is more likely that Zach LaVine will eventually join the Los Angeles Lakers.