After botching up their attempt to acquire Donovan Mitchell in the offseason, the New York Knicks are now reportedly eyeing the Chicago Bulls for a potential Zach Lach LaVine trade.
Veteran NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski made the revelation, highlighting the Knicks' need to have a “star attraction” to bring them back to relevance and compete in the East.
Woj emphasized that New York's failure to acquire Mitchell despite getting so close will “haunt” the franchise for years, especially with the former Utah Jazz guard playing so well with the Cleveland Cavaliers right now. In order to make up for that clear mistake, though, the Knicks are now looking to pull off a trade for a star player, and that's where the Bulls and LaVine come in.
“You go back to September 1st when Cleveland made that trade for Donovan Mitchell. This may haunt this Knicks regime until the end. That was a player who wanted to be in New York and they were within shouting distance of getting a deal done, but they didn't. And New York's hope was that the amount of first-round picks they have and their young players would help to get them back a star, a big player in a trade,” Woj shared.
“But as the Knicks found out, players like Donovan Mitchell do not become available very often. And that's the challenge for the Knicks right now. Who is the next big player that becomes available? … The Knicks will be watching Chicago: is Zach LaVine a player, who before the trade deadline, possibly could become available? He certainly isn't now.”
Sure enough as Woj noted, the Knicks will have to stay patient when it comes to a potential Zach LaVine trade since the Bulls are not actively seeking to deal him away. Chicago is still trying to fight for the postseason, so nothing might be discussed at least until the last few weeks heading to the trade deadline.
It's no longer news that the Knicks are looking for another star player to pair up with Jalen Brunson. It has been reported before that the ‘Bockers are hoarding their eight first-rounders in order to pounce when that next megastar becomes available. The problem in that is they aren't sure if one will ever be on the market.
Woj: "You go back to September 1 when Cleveland made that trade for Donovan Mitchell. This may haunt this Knicks regime until the end… The Knicks will be watching Chicago [possibly targeting Zach LaVine]… They need a star attraction."#NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/rpr9YtSt3x
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) December 8, 2022
Knicks fans are certainly hoping that the team gets that “star attraction” they are seeking for. But as things currently stand, their prospects aren't looking that good.
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