NBA rumors: New injury update could delay Zach LaVine trade a month or more

According to the Bulls, it seems like Zach LaVine will be out for the next 3 to 4 weeks with foot inflammation. This would mean that any team that wanted to trade for the player would likely wait until early January. Shams Charania spoke about this on his show Run It Back and highlighted the fact that by that date, the Lakers will be able to trade D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura. They can't be traded until Jan. 15 because of the contracts they signed this offseason.

Shams also mentioned that the Sixers could be interested in trading for LaVine depending on what is going on with the squad at the time. While the Sixers and others may be interested in trading for LaVine, this recent batch of rumors might signal that the Lakers will have the inside track in landing.

Are the Lakers are the favorite to trade for Zach LaVine?

It's hard to see a way where the Lakers have to give up a lot in return for Zach LaVine. This is a player that doesn't seem to have a trade market. LaVine will not have a good chance to increase his trade value in the next couple of weeks because he is not playing. And concerns about the long-term dependability of the All-Star will certainly come into question after this recent injury.

At the end of the day, Rui Hachimura's contract and rising skills are probably too much for a player like LaVine who is aging and on a max contract. He is a player who isn't worth $40 million in the current NBA world because he is likely not anything more than the third-best player on a title team.

With the current structure of the CBA that incentivizes teams to not pay high long-term contracts, it's hard to see a way where the Bulls get a good pick and player return for the former Dunk contest champion. Regardless of what happens, it seems like the Bulls will not be trading LaVine anytime soon.