The Golden State Warriors have already missed out on one of their biggest trade targets ahead of the deadline, with Zach LaVine having been moved to the Sacramento Kings in the 3-team deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported shortly after the trade that the Warriors had serious discussions with the Chicago Bulls about bringing both LaVine and Nikola Vucevic to the Bay, but chose to move onto other pursuits rather than complete a deal that would have drastically changed their starting five.
The Luka Doncic trade may have forced the Warriors to move on from pursuing Zach LaVine
Anthony Slater of The Athletic has since detailed why Golden State chose to forego the acquisition of LaVine — someone who had averaged 24 points on nearly 45% 3-point shooting with the Bulls this season.
“But those that pull the ultimate levers at the top (Mike Dunleavy, Joe Lacob, Kirk Lacob) opted to let the sped-up LaVine option pass in pursuit of loftier ambitions,” Slater reported.
That certainly adds some level of intrigue to Golden State’s plans over the the next 48 hours, having shown a new-found level of desperation since LaVine was traded. They were linked to superstars Kevin Durant and LeBron James in a blockbuster report from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line on Monday, while ESPN’s Shams Charania stated that “the Warriors are legitimately calling about every All-Star player.”
