In an incredibly not shocking development, Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely to begin the 2024-25 NBA season as he continues to rehab his knee.
In a somewhat shocking development, the Chicago Bulls are engineering a teardown and rebuild of their roster with a look to the future rather than the play-in tournament.
There's a slight chance these two may become connected if Arturas Karnisovas and Chicago's front office can play their cards right.
Kawhi injury issues could make Clippers a Zach LaVine trade destination
After saying goodbye to Paul George this summer and now beginning the year without Leonard, the Clippers will enter their new, wildly expensive arena with 35-year-old James Harden ready to run the same ball-stopping, heliocentric offense he became famous for with the Houston Rockets.
That's not an entirely enticing reason for Los Angeles residents to pay to watch the Lakers' little brother.
The question now is how desperate will the Clippers get if the season gets off to a disappointing start. What could happen if owner Steve Ballmer doesn't like the direction in which his team is trending?
A high level of desperation in LA could become an advantage for the Bulls.
The Clippers playoff chances already took a massive hit when George left to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
In a loaded Western Conference that features teams like the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Mavericks and Suns, it was going to be a difficult road to the postseason for the Clippers, even if they got a healthy Leonard and Harden for most of the year.
Now, Kawhi won't make it to opening night before earning an out "indefinitely" designation, Harden played more than 65 games last season for the first time since his final year with the Rockets, and the depth behind them is led by Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac.
Combining those roster complications with an impatient owner, a new arena and unreasonably high expectations could make the Clippers desperate for any kind of improvement, and the Bulls can pounce.
Chicago should be calling Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank and offering LaVine's services. He could lead LA's offense as an iso scorer in non-Harden minutes, and his spot-up shooting ability would fit well when Harden opens up his drive-and-kick game.
What would make LaVine even more attractive to the Clippers is that he wouldn't cost much, which is good considering Frank doesn't have much to offer.
It would take some serious creativity to make the salaries work - a third team may need to get involved - but the Bulls won't ask for much in return as long as they get LaVine's contract off the books.