Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Chicago Bulls have rendered Alex Caruso, the preferred trade target of the Los Angeles Lakers, untouchable.
According to Michael Scotto of Hoopshype, the same had been said about Austin Reaves, the rising star of the Lakers, who the Bulls would prefer to receive in exchange for Zach LaVine.
Yossi Gozlan, a salary cap expert at Hoopshype, speculated that a win-win trade might be able to end the impasse.
Gozlan speculated that there might be a scenario in which the Lakers acquire both LaVine and Alex Caruso. “I believe that guy has a much higher ceiling for championships than most players do.”
Would the Lakers entertain a deal in which they acquired LaVine and Caruso without having to give up any picks in exchange for Reaves? Perhaps in the process, they could also get [Gabe] Vincent off? That seems like an intriguing scenario. They most certainly require a point-of-attack defender such as Caruso to guard some of the league’s best ball-dominant players.
But after January 15, when Reaves, who inked a $56 million, four-year contract with the Lakers last summer, becomes trade-eligible, this possible blockbuster deal cannot be finalized.
Starting on December 15, the injured Lakers free agent Vincent is available for trade.
The combined salary of Reaves and Vincent, at $22.5 million, is less than the combined salary of the Bulls, at $49.4 million, for this season. As a result, the Lakers will need to add Christian Wood, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura as salary fillers. On December 15, all three, like Vincent, become eligible for trade.
