As Minnesota president / coach, Tom Thibodeau once sent Zach LaVine to Chicago in 2017 in exchange for Jimmy Butler.
But the Knicks coach sounded like he wouldn’t mind reuniting with the current Bulls shooting guard, noting his improvement. It is speculated that the Bulls would put LaVine on the trading bloc before becoming a free agent in 2022. That could be before the March trading deadline, this summer, or the next trading deadline.
The Knicks need more points, and LaVine is a sniper – one of the best dunkers in the NBA. He scores an average of 26.8 points and 5.3 assists. SNY reported that LaVine would be on Knicks radar over the summer.
The biggest advantage the Knicks would have over many interested teams is that they have $ 18 million in cap space to take on a large contract without giving away a lot of paycheck. He is one of several players on Knicks radar, sources say. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf might be hesitant to give LaVine to Thibodeau as his Bulls’ breakup was ugly.
Before Monday-night’s 110-102 defeat to the Bulls, in which LaVine scored 21 runs on 8-of-16 shots with five rebounsd, Thibodeau was asked about LaVine’s progression since dealing it from Minnesota. Ironically, the addition of Butler to Minnesota caused friction with the young players and led to Thibodeau’s resignation two years ago.
“It has continued to grow, I think every year,” said Thibodeau. “I think we sometimes tend to forget the steps players take to get to where they are today. and for Zach, he started, I think in his freshman year he scored about 13 or 14 points per game. Then there was another four-point jump. Now he’s up to 26, 27. He shoots 50, 40, 90. He’s an elite shooter. He is a great athlete. … But he’s a great guy, a hard worker. So you knew he would keep improving. He plays at a very high level. ”
The Knicks also have a host of draft picks to offer, including two first-round picks this year.
Bull’s freshman coach Billy Donovan recruited Julius Randle while Donovan was in Florida. Randle chose Kentucky. Now Randle has a career year and is shooting well from the three-point line (37.5 percent) and may be on the verge of making his first All-Star team.
“Thibs puts him in situations that play with Julius’ strengths,” said Donovan. ‘He’s a handful on the low post. He has great feet and ball control. He worked hard on his shooting. He shoots the ball much better. Earlier in his career, he is a guy you left alone and tries to block the paint. Now he makes midrange, 3s, and puts it on the ground. He is a heckuva driver…. He continues to evolve and grow as a player. ”
Donovan has coached Knicks backup center Nerlens Noel for the past two seasons at OKC. Like Randle, he also recruited Noel, but lost him to Kentucky. Noel, who signed a one-year $ 5 million deal with the Knicks in November, missed his second game in a row with knee pain.
“I loved him,” said Donovan. ‘I recruited him when he got out of high school. I never got a lot of these NBA guys. He’s a great teammate and loves the way he plays the game with a great shot blocking ability. He sees the floor well for a big guy. He was great to us at OKC. He gave us two incredible years there – all about the team. ”