NBA sources not buying Zach LaVine scuttle, expect him to re-sign with Bulls

It is a lot of smoke, but no fire, yet. And you’ve got to hand it to the behind-the-scenes folks: They’ve created some late-spring entertainment, some buzz around Zach LaVine. In the end, make no mistake, though. Most expect LaVine back in Chicago. “Business as usual,” one Eastern Conference general manager said. “The Bulls can give him more money. They can give him a chance to go to the playoffs every year. If he is not the No. 1 option, he is 1A and that is going to be the case in just about any place he goes if he is serious about leaving. Portland is out there as a possibility for him, and if he leaves, that is the only place where it would make any sense. But would he shoot more than Damian Lillard there? Of course not. It’s a lateral move, or even a step down a bit.”
Source: Sean Deveney @ Heavy.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Sean Deveney @SeanDeveney
All about the agents? Some NBA sources are saying Klutch is behind the Zach LaVine – @Chicago Bulls situation: “The more drama in the process, the better. No one was talking about Zach. Now everyone is. Mission accomplished.”
More from @HeavySan :
heavy.com/sports/chicago… – 12:05 PM

Josh Martin @LonzoWire
Chicago guard Zach LaVine underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery this week. lonzowire.usatoday.com/2022/05/25/zac… – 11:21 AM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
It’s official: Bulls’ Zach LaVine has arthroscopic surgery on left knee nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/25/its… – 11:01 AM

Bobby Marks @BobbyMarks42
Zach LaVine (with no All-NBA)
Chicago: 5 years $212.3M
Not with Chicago: 4 years $157.4M – 8:39 PM

Joe Cowley @JCowleyHoops
Bulls in Paris, and Zach LaVine scope done and done, with nothing unexpected found. Full recovery … just in time to be a Laker …
Read it:
chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2022/5/2… – 4:57 PM

Chuck Swirsky @ctsbulls
ZACH LAVINE INJURY UPDATE
 
Chicago Bulls guard Zach Lavine underwent successful left knee arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday, May 24th at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. Lavine is expected to make a full recovery. – 4:40 PM

Darnell Mayberry @DarnellMayberry
Zach LaVine underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, the Bulls announced. – 4:38 PM

KC Johnson @KCJHoop
News story on Zach LaVine’s arthroscopic left knee surgery, which the Bulls termed successful.
For @NBCSChicago: nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/… – 4:33 PM

KC Johnson @KCJHoop
Zach LaVine underwent surgery on his left knee on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Chicago Bulls executives are in Los Angeles to attend various agency pro days in advance of next month’s NBA Draft and were in close contact with the two-time All-Star guard. – 4:29 PM

Eric Pincus @EricPincus
ICYMI: In explaining how the Lakers could get Zach LaVine logistically (which I’m not suggesting is in the works), I broke down a path to the Lakers getting out of RW to generate nearly a $41 mil trade exception for Westbrook: bleacherreport.com/articles/10035… – 3:17 PM

More on this storyline

“A lot of this is coming from the agents, where they want to not only get him paid but raise his profile at the same time,” one league source told Heavy.com. “That is their M.O. The more drama in the process, the better. No one was talking about Zach. Now everyone is. Mission accomplished.” -via Heavy.com / May 25, 2022

The agents mentioned are those from Klutch Sports, which has star clients like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Trae Young and, yes, LaVine’s Bulls teammate, Lonzo Ball. The latest round of chatter around LaVine likely has more to do with Klutch angling to make sure that LaVine keeps his old as the top Bulls star going forward. That’s likely to be the case without this wave of late-May drama, given that DeRozan turns 33 in August and is not likely to repeat the kind of season he just put forth, with a career-high in scoring (27.9 points) and the second-best shooting (50.4%) of his career. “It is still Zach’s team,” the NBA source said. “Klutch just wants to make sure everyone knows it.” -via Heavy.com / May 25, 2022

Zach LaVine underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Chicago Bulls executives are in Los Angeles to attend various agency pro days in advance of next month’s NBA Draft and were in close contact with the two-time All-Star guard, who is expected to begin a short rehabilitation period shortly. In a release, the team termed the surgery “successful” and said LaVine is expected to make a full recovery. -via NBC Sports / May 24, 2022