Zach LaVine
LaVine is probably the captain of this team, as he still has three years remaining on his deal that no one in the league wants to touch.
It’s wild, as LaVine is a very good player and a few seasons ago it would have been unthinkable that there was zero trade market for him, but here we are.
This is a guy who has averaged 25 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from long range on high volume over the last five seasons.
But he’s getting paid premium money, the kind of money you give to players who regularly lead their team to the playoffs, don’t miss a lot of games and who make their teammates better. Zach LaVine doesn’t fit that description.
So, a very good player is languishing on a team that doesn’t want him because his contract and injury history are massive red flags in the second apron era. In past years, some contender would have stolen LaVine for little and just taken the tax hit.