Former UCLA star gets brutally honest about criticism

So, about those trade rumors and all the criticism surrounding LaVine? The 29-year-old uses all that as fuel.

“I heard everything,” LaVine said Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “I have read everything. Sometimes you have to take that responsibility and put a chip on your shoulder. There are a lot of things people said I had to prove. I think my CV speaks for itself, the type of player I am, the type of person I am, but it is what it is. You can always attract attention.”

And that’s exactly what LaVine is doing at the start of the 2024-2025 campaign.

No one ever really doubted LaVine’s ability as a scorer. Even during his lone season at UCLA, you could see how refined his offensive game was.

But people have pointed out his defensive limitations, and his durability has always been a hot topic of discussion. After all, LaVine has played just once in 70 games since the 2016-17 season.

LaVine’s ongoing injury issues have people wondering if he was worth the five-year, $215 million deal he signed in 2022.

“It’s not my place to try to get everyone to like me,” LaVine added. “I’m happy with what I got, what I deserved. And some people may not feel that way and you can judge it based on that. But either way, I know who I am and what I’ve done in this league.”

Hopefully LaVine can stay on the floor and continue to produce at a high level.

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