As expected, Bulls guard Zach LaVine has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the team announced today in a press release. The procedure took place on Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, according to the Bulls.
LaVine battled soreness in his left knee for most of the season. He missed 10 games in January and February while dealing with the injury and had fluid drained from his knee around the All-Star break. The 27-year-old, who didn’t feel 100% healthy in the second half due to that knee issue, first acknowledged in early March that offseason surgery might be necessary.
Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month after the Bulls’ season ended that LaVine was expected to undergo a procedure on his left knee, and Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed it a couple weeks later.
LaVine’s knee issue isn’t viewed as a long-term problem and there has been no indication that the surgery will delay his 2022/23 debut, though the team didn’t specify a recovery timeline in today’s announcement. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, who notes that Bulls executives have been in L.A. for various pro days and have been in close contact with LaVine, says the former UCLA standout is expected to begin rehab work “shortly.”
Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has stated that the knee injury won’t impact negotiations between the team and LaVine’s camp when the two-time All-Star reaches free agency this summer.
Multiple recent reports have stated that LaVine is no longer viewed around the NBA as a lock to remain in Chicago, but the Bulls are still considered the favorites to sign him this offseason. Many of the teams linked to LaVine recently don’t have the cap flexibility to offer him a maximum-salary contract outright and would likely need to try to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal if they want to pry him away from the Bulls.
The New York Knicks will do anything they can to bring LaVine into their organization.
The Knicks will explore at all costs.
The Lakers also are interested. Can the Knicks make better trade offer than the Lakers?
Lakers have 5 players under contract and no picks (looks like they want to keep that ’27 pick). Oh, and three of those five have little to no trade value, so I guess they have little to offer
Well this is a reply to Silli
Here are 3 reasons why Zach LaVine joining the Lakers is likely:
1. Zach LaVine has leverage and likes the idea of playing for the Lakers
2. The Los Angeles Lakers might be the only team willing to give Zach LaVine the max
3. Free agent signing if not SNT
Lakers will dump Westbrook and anything similar to Brook
Only way they can dump Westbrook is if they trade Davis too for draft compensation and young players. So in that case they are looking at Lavine and a few trade pieces for Westbrook and Davis.
On the other hand maybea sign and trade with Chicago for Davis could work too.
But both scenarios seem unlikely.
I do not think the Bulls would trade Lavine essentially for Davis, but maybe if some 3&D were included – and a backup pg. Any way the magical Lakers could swing that?
Uh oh, Jimmy Two Times is back!
LAvine want to play for winning Lakers, not the current mess
they can’t offer him the max, they don’t have cap space. a lot of teams would be willing to ofer the max that they can’t afford though.
how on earth is brooklyn gonna ad 40 more millions, whne they have durant, irving and simmons? they don’t have cap space either