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'Talk to Donovan!': Bulls' Zach LaVine Asked About Knicks Trade

The idea of Zach LaVine being traded to the New York Knicks refuses to die, much to the apparent consternation of the Chicago Bulls All-Star.

Geoff Magliocchetti

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Chicago Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine partook in this week's MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game this week but he was engaging in walk-offs beyond the diamond at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

LaVine's future is one of the biggest questions the meandering Bulls face this offseason and some expect to see him traded away from West Madison Street whether it's before opening night or by this winter's trade deadline. Despite managerial connections apparently steering LaVine away from the New York Knicks, observers continue to place him on the metropolitan radar.

Count Nelson Vergara of the "Broadcast Boys" web show among them: Vergara probed LaVine over "when (he'll) demand a trade to the Knicks," causing the two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion to storm off the set in humorous fashion. "Aw, man," LaVine says as the set erupts in laughter. "Go talk to Donovan."

LaVine was referring to Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who was also a guest on the program. Last summer featured a plethora of Mitchell rumors that placed him with the Knicks but was instead dealt to The Forest City. That still hasn't stopped the rumor mill, as Mitchell has two more years left on his Cleveland contract that came over from Utah before facing a player option year in 2025. 

The idea of LaVine moving to Manhattan has been partly egged on by the fact he previously played for current Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota. But a June report from Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News said that LaVine's group had no interest in moving to New York, which is led by president and former CAA representative Leon Rose. LaVine is a client of Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.

"A source said the LaVine camp isn’t interested in dealing with the Knicks, who have a reputation around the league of favoring clients of CAA, the agency that employed Leon Rose before his move to the Knicks front office," Bondy wrote. "Of course, the Knicks don’t need such approval to make a trade. But landmines are set and often detonated under those circumstances."

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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