Will Zach LaVine Be Traded? NBA Scout Floats Clippers as Potential Landing Spot

At least one NBA insider reportedly considers the Los Angeles Clippers a potential landing spot for Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

According to Bontemps, one Western Conference scout speaking about the Clippers asked him: "What about Zach LaVine?"

LaVine is playing under a $47.5 million cap hit this season and holds a player option worth just under $49 million for 2026-27, per Spotrac.

Bontemps pointed out that the Clippers have multiple players on potentially expiring contracts.

Those include John Collins ($26.6 million cap hit this season, UFA in 2026) as well as James Harden ($39.2 million this season, player option for 2026-27) and Bogdan Bogdanovic ($16 million this season, club option for 2026-27).

Moving out some expiring contracts would allow the Clippers to take on LaVine's deal, Bontemps noted.

He also noted that the Clippers could potentially "get an asset or two back from the Kings" in exchange for the help with their cap space.

The Clips would meanwhile take on LaVine's contract in the short term but be free of the deal by the start of the 2027-28 season, by which point the franchise has "clear ambitions" to have cap space, according to Bontemps.

"That means the Clippers could be one of the few teams, if not the only team, interested in taking on LaVine," Bontemps concluded.

LaVine is averaging 19.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep through 20 games of his first full season with the Kings.

The Clippers (6-16) and Kings (5-17) are both heading into the February deadline as potential sellers after plummeting to 14th and 15th in the Western Conference, respectively.

If the Kings are willing to give up assets in order to clear the potential cap hit from LaVine's option off their books for next season, the Clippers could potentially use the return to stock up for a rebuild.

LaVine could also help provide some production on a Clippers backcourt that has been thinned by injury so far this season. Veteran guard Bradley Beal, who was brought in as a potential replacement for Norman Powell this offseason, averaged just 8.2 points through six games before suffering a season-ending hip injury in November.