Former UCLA Star Has Cloudy Future After Puzzling NBA Trade

Former UCLA star Zach LaVine may not have a viable long-term future with the Sacramento Kings.

Feb 12, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) brings the ball up court against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings acquired Zach LaVine in an NBA trade deadline deal with the Chicago Bulls, which seemed like a rather odd move considering they also dealt De'Aaron Fox.

How would replacing Fox with LaVine make the Kings any better moving forward? Plus, LaVine was reunited with DeMar DeRozan in Sacramento. The pairing didn't work well in Chicago, so why would it succeed with the Kings?

Matt George of ESPN Sacramento wonders if the former UCLA Bruins star will even be in Sacramento for an extended period of time, as he doesn't exactly think the fit is great.

"If you want to be a team that is a perennial playoff team and [one that] works themselves into contention, I don't know if you can be that with a DeRozan/LaVine core," George said on the "D-Lo and KC show" on ESPN1320. " ... I'm not putting it all on those two. Those two aren't the whole problem. It's just that in order to get to where you need to go, one of them needs to be traded."

Could that one player be LaVine?

In a vacuum, LaVine may be the better player, as he is a more efficient scorer and fits more in the modern NBA game due to his ability to consistently shoot the three-ball, something that DeRozan does not do very effectively.

Of course, there are caveats, such as the fact that LaVine has a rather tricky contract situation and isn't exactly a beacon of durability.

The 29-year-old — who turns 30 next month — has another year left on his deal at $47.5 million and then a player option for a tick under $50 million for the 2026-27 campaign.

At this point, it seems relatively likely that LaVine will exercise his player option, and given his injury history, it's fair to question whether or not the UCLA product will even make it through the next couple of years unscathed.

LaVine has played in 70 games just once since the 2016-17 season, thanks mostly in part to persistent knee issues. He was also limited to just 25 contests last year due to a foot injury that ultimately required surgery.

The Renton, Wa. native is averaging 23.7 points per game on 50.1/42.2/81.7 splits this season.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.