The Golden State Warriors showed interest in a host of big-name players before eventually acquiring Jimmy Butler in February, having strongly been linked to the likes of LeBron James, Paul George and Lauri Markkanen in the 12 months leading up to their eventual blockbuster trade.
But not only did the Warriors avoid a trap in the way of the often-injured George, they also fortunately steered clear of an even bigger nightmare that the Sacramento Kings are now stuck with in the way of Zach LaVine.
Warriors can only laugh after avoiding Zach LaVine nightmare
When asked about the current trade market for LaVine on their private Substack chat, NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer offered a fairly bleak picture of the possibilites available to the Kings.
“I suspect the Kings are gonna face challenges trying to move any of their significant contracts,” Stein responded.
“The Kings were essentially the only team outside of Golden State last season that showed serious interest in Lavine when Chicago shopped him,” Fischer added.
The Warriors can only sit back and laugh now at the fact they ever held interest in LaVine, yet that goes to show just how bleak things were leading up to the Butler trade, and just how desperate they were to find another source of offense beyond Stephen Curry.
As a 2x All-Star, there’s never been any question in regard to LaVine’s talent and offensive production. He holds career-averages of 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists, shooting an efficient 47% from the floor and 39.1% from 3-point range.
Yet despite these numbers, there’s always been a question on LaVine’s ability to impact winning, evidenced by the fact he’s appeared in just four playoff games over his first 11 seasons. He won’t add to that this season either if the Kings are forced to hold onto him, with the embattled franchise off to a dismal 3-13 start despite LaVine averaging 21.9 points on 51.2% shooting from the floor and 41.2% from beyond the arc.
The real problem here is LaVine’s contract, with the 30-year-old still holding a $49 million player option for next season that he’ll inevitably pick up. That’s going to make it almost impossible for the Kings to move their starting two-guard, at least not without having to attach assets themselves.
The Warriors will continue to hunt for star players which has included being listed as a potential destination for Anthony Davis, but needless to say they won’t be renewing their interest in LaVine despite his expected availbility.
