Could blockbuster trade for Zach LaVine raise Cavs’ ceiling?

Zach LaVine to the Cavs: How good is Zach LaVine?

Per NBA.com’s John Schumann, four players have averaged 20 points per game in each of the past four seasons while shooting at least 55 percent from the field: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker (all top-4 in MVP voting this past season)…and Zach LaVine. He has made the past two All-Star Games and ascended into one of the league’s best wing scorers.

This past season was a slight step back in efficiency as he battled a knee injury all year, but the hyper-athletic guard also made the playoffs for the first time in his career. LaVine was a key performer on the Gold Medal Olympic squad for Team USA last summer as well, another notch in the career ascendancy LaVine is on.

LaVine is an excellent finisher inside with both the explosion to the rim for thunderous dunks and the body control for crafty finishes in traffic. He has also taken huge strides as an outside shooter, hitting 38.9 percent over five seasons in Chicago on a high number of attempts. Although not an elite passer, he is perfectly deployed alongside another plus playmaker and has averaged at least four assists per game in each of the past four seasons.

Defensively LaVine is not a positive, but at 6’5″ he has the size not to get obliterated. He would be miscast as any sport of a wing stopper, but with a solid defensive foundation around him — something he has never had in his career, although the Bulls made strides last season — he could absolutely hold up at the 2. Given that LaVine is still just 27 years old, he should continue to be a perennial All-Star and sometime All-NBA guard for the entirety of his next contract.