In recent days, basketball fans across the world have been confronted by a somewhat perplexing rumor that links Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The main reason why the rumor is confusing to so many is because of the very basic fact that the Lakers lack the necessary money to potentially sign LaVine. Moreover, they do not seem to have assets that they’d be willing to part ways with to make a sign-and-trade deal work.
Now, one unnamed NBA source has now come out to put blame on power agency Klutch Sports for perhaps creating the LaVine drama.
“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,” the 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.”
Of course, Klutch Sports is run by none other than Rich Paul, LeBron James’ agent and close friend. LaVine joined Klutch last year.
Despite all of the noise, the league source seemingly believes that the Bulls are still LaVine’s team.
“It is still Zach’s team,” the NBA source said regarding LaVine’s relationship with the Bulls. “Klutch just wants to make sure everyone knows it.”
In the coming months, it will be fascinating to see what LaVine ends up doing. Without a doubt, the Bulls were seen as real contenders in the East before injuries derailed their 2021-22 season.
If LaVine returns and the Bulls continue to add and develop talent, there is no reason why they can’t become one of the better teams in the conference.
Whether or not LaVine does stay, however, remains to be seen.
