Zach LaVine Trade Rumors: Knicks Among Teams 'Monitoring' Bulls Star

The New York Knicks are "among many teams monitoring" shooting guard Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls ahead of the March 25 trade deadline, per Ian Begley of SNY.

Begley initially reported in July that the Knicks and Brooklyn Nets had done "background work" on LaVine.

The Nets have since engineered a blockbuster deal for ex-Houston Rocket James Harden, presumably taking them out of the mix.

However, as Begley noted this summer, the Knicks have assets for a deal, with "seven first-round picks over the next four drafts and some young players who are attractive to opposing teams." And the Knicks reportedly want to be prepared in the event that the Bulls begin listening to trade offers for the 25-year-old.

LaVine is eligible for free agency in 2022, and Begley mentioned that fact as a reason in July why the Bulls could be interested in trading him down the road as the team continues its rebuild:

"It’s fair to say that the Bulls, who have a new team president in Arturas Karsinovas, have yet to find a long-term solution on the coaching sidelines nor have they been successful in surrounding LaVine with talent in recent years. If that instability continues, would LaVine look to leave Chicago when he hits free agency? If so, the Bulls would probably be open to trading him instead of losing him for nothing."

LaVine is off to a scorching-hot start to the 2020-21 campaign, posting career highs of 27.0 points per game on 50.2 percent shooting and 39.7 percent from three-point range. His 5.3 assists per contest are also a career high.

However, the Bulls are off to a slow start, going 7-10 and posting the No. 22 MOV (margin of victory) in the league, per Basketball Reference.

The Knicks could use a dominant top scorer like LaVine, especially at guard. Only one of their players averages over 18 points per game, and that's power forward/center Julius Randle at 22.5 points. 

New York does have second-year guard RJ Barrett, who has clearly improved from his rookie campaign, averaging 17.4 points per game. Rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley (10.7 PPG) has also showed promise in 15 appearances.

But the Knicks are last in the NBA in points per game and bottom five in offensive rating, per Basketball Reference. Adding LaVine could go a long way toward alleviating their offensive woes.

Ultimately, they would presumably have a lot of competition for LaVine given that he's in his mid-20s and has developed into a dominant scorer. For now, LaVine's Bulls and the Knicks find themselves among five teams with seven or eight wins that are fighting for a better standing in the Eastern Conference.