Rumored Lakers trade target now comes at heavily discounted price

The Chicago Bulls might be looking to dump Zach LaVine this offseason and the Lakers could benefit from it.

According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, the Chicago Bulls are open to "more possibilities than before" regarding a Zach LaVine trade.

The franchise, which previously wanted "All-Star level talent, first-round picks or both" in return for LaVine has reportedly dropped their asking price "significantly."

This comes after the Bulls were unable to trade LaVine before the deadline. No squad wanted to pay LaVine $178 million over four years (the final season on that deal is a $48 million player option that he will likely accept). Considering the former Dunk contest champion is likely not a No. 1 or 2 option on a championship squad, it's hard to see any franchise buying in to pay him that contract while giving away top-notch assets.

While he isn't a No. 1 option, LaVine can be a key starter on a contending team if he stays healthy (which is another big "if" considering his injury history). Finally, the guard isn't a great defender and will likely need to be on a team that has a good defensive guard in place to make sure that he doesn't have to defend the best guard on the opposing team in a playoff series.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to LaVine in the past and could be open to a trade if they don't have to get rid of Austin Reaves or their first-round draft picks.

Will the Lakers take advantage of the Bulls' desperation to get rid of Zach LaVine?

While the Lakers would probably love to get LaVine for next to nothing, it's hard to see a world where that happens for two reasons.

The first reason is that LA will likely have to give Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura to get a deal done. The squad could end up offering Jarred Vanderbilt instead but would not really make sense from the Lakers perspective. Vanderbilt is on a solid contract and is arguably more valuable than LaVine despite the Lakers' offensive issues.

The second problem is that the Chicago Bulls seemingly do not want to trade with the Lakers, from an ownership perspective at least. They do not want to help LeBron's legacy. Yes, the franchise would love to get off LaVine's contract but there are probably other ways to do that without helping the Lakers.