Zach LaVine Trade Rumors: Lakers Interest Expected; Bulls 'Would Covet' Austin Reaves

Coming off a 44-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, the Los Angeles Lakers might be feeling an increased sense of urgency.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Lakers are expected to have interest in Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls, who "would covet" Austin Reaves in any potential talks.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic recently reported any Lakers offer for LaVine would likely be centered around D'Angelo Russell and Reaves wouldn't be included in a deal.

The Lakers have been a hard team to figure out to start this season. They were 3-5 after eight games before winning six of their next seven games.

Their 44-point loss to the Sixers was the worst of LeBron James' career. The Lakers were outscored by 45 points on three-pointers in the game (66 to 21). Joel Embiid had a 30-point triple-double. Tyrese Maxey finished with a game-high 31 points.

James told reporters after the game "a lot" needed to change, but he declined to elaborate on what that meant. Five of their eight losses have been by double-digits, including two by at least 34 points.

The Lakers are 4-0 in the in-season tournament, but 6-8 in all their other games. They rank in the bottom half of the NBA in points per game (111.8), offensive rating (110.6) and points allowed per game (113.7).

LaVine's status with the Bulls is going to be one of the biggest storylines in the NBA leading up to the trade deadline. It seems like this would be the time for them to move on from the two-time All-Star.

The Bulls have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference (5-13). They are reportedly open to at least exploring trade options for LaVine.

Los Angeles is arguably in desperation mode this season. James, who will turn 39 on Dec. 30, is in the final guaranteed season of his contract with a $51.4 million player option for 2024-25.

Reaves has had a disappointing start to this season after signing a four-year, $53.8 million deal over the summer. He's only shooting 33.8 percent from behind the arc and was removed from the starting lineup after a Nov. 8 loss to the Houston Rockets.

LaVine has a track record of scoring that would help the Lakers, but there's a question of how he would fit as a primary ballhandler playing alongside James if the team did make a serious play to acquire him.