The biggest threat to the 76ers in a potential Zach LaVine trade

In an abrupt development that frankly everyone should have seen coming, Zach LaVine has reportedly become warm to the idea of a trade out of town and has named the Philadelphia 76ers as one of his preferred destinations.

The Chicago Bulls have been treading on the mediocrity circuit, and a shaky 5-9 start could just be the perfect impetus for the front office to pull the plug on their core and commence a long overdue rebuild.

That being said, the 76ers are not the lone team on LaVine’s shortlist of his desired team to play for. Which stands as the biggest threat for Philly in a hypothetical trade for the two-time All-Star?

Which team is the biggest threat to the 76ers in a hypothetical trade for Zach LaVine?

As reported, LaVine is also eyeing the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat as landing spots, with the San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings also touted as clubs the two-time All-Star would be interested in joining.

The Lakers and Heat are always name-hunting, and while both teams are relatively limited in what they can offer to the Bulls for LaVine, it’s unsurprising that these two teams are on his catalog given their win-now disposition as a franchise.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are intriguing in that they can field the best possible offer to Chicago. However, San Antonio is on the first year of its rebuild in the Victor Wembanyama era, and Gregg Popovich and co. are extremely unlikely to skip steps and break the bank for LaVine when their prospects remain too raw and still have a ton of room for improvement anyway.

On the flip side, the Kings are not in dire need of anything that LaVine provides, especially since his calling card is on offense and Sacramento has loads of it. It remains to be seen if they would be willing to make a huge play for a shooting guard of his caliber when they have proven they can fill the position with ease through their personnel, but their front office cannot just stand idly given the wide range of playoff contenders in the West.

In a vacuum, the Philadelphia 76ers make the most compelling case for Zach LaVine, not only basketball-wise, but also business-wise as the Chicago Bulls aim to launch a big trade to kickstart a reset. Whether Philly’s front office reciprocates the interest is yet to be determined, but they should instantly jump atop the list considering the state of the other potential buyers for the All-Star.