Bulls Match Kings’ Offer Sheet for Zach LaVine at 4 Years, $78 Million
When Zach LaVine’s NBA career is finished, he’ll look back on this past weekend as a real turning point. On Friday, the Sacramento Kings signed the restricted free agent to a four-year, $78 million offer sheet, giving the Bulls 48 hours to match. Twitter exploded with speculation and opinions about LaVine’s future for less than two hours before it was announced the Bulls intended to match the offer sheet. They made it official Sunday.
This story defined the Bulls’ weekend when several others could have. The team split its first two Summer League games, during which Wendell Carter Jr. gave some solid early returns. As part of a three-team trade, the Bulls sent Jerian Grant to the Orlando Magic and acquired Julyan Stone from the Charlotte Hornets, though Stone and his nonguaranteed contract will be waived. But LaVine rightfully received the coverage.
The original centerpiece in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, LaVine remains part of the future in the eyes of Gar Forman and John Paxson. Despite playing only 24 games last season, LaVine averaged 16.7 points and 3.9 rebounds a game on 38.3-percent shooting from the field and a .499 true shooting percentage. Even in limited action, that should be enough for your team to want to keep you around and see what else you can do. If you take away the player’s recent history and focus exclusively on the numbers, wouldn’t you do everything to keep him?
Lauri Markkanen might have had the best season of any Bull in 2017–18, but who’s to say LaVine doesn’t have All-Star potential, too? The man has proven his athleticism, and more potent scoring can’t be far behind. I’m talking about a scoring average that’s at least 20 points a game. At 23, LaVine still has time to go beyond what many expect from him.
A buddy of mine texted me a few hours before I wrote this piece in response to comments I made to him about LaVine. He mentioned how he can’t argue with LaVine’s offensive potential, but that he needs to work on his defense. It’s a fair assessment, and though I don’t know what happens in these recovery sessions, I’ll bet players recovering from a torn ACL tend to focus on what they can do with the ball first and without it second. With a full season coming up, we’ll soon see what defensive strides he’s making as we speak.
During the Summer League Bulls’ 69–60 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, LaVine mentioned his aspiration to “wake up” those who doubt his value and that he now has “extra motivation” going forward. Never mind that his new contract protects the Bulls in case his knee betrays him again. He’s not going to play timid. He’s on a mission to earn every last penny that makes up those $80 million.
As for the Bulls, they have peace of mind knowing they can keep the trio of LaVine, Markkanen and Kris Dunn for the foreseeable future. Only time will tell if it’s the right decision. The organization has invested everything in these three players, and the powers that be have to know how badly this will go over with fans if it doesn’t work. In the “contender or tanker” world of today’s NBA, it’s become more difficult than ever to appease a fan base.
LaVine has a future in Chicago, at worst in a supporting role for Markkanen. Optimally, he someday makes the All-NBA First Team and vaults the Bulls back into the title conversation. It might take a few years, but the franchise and fan base are prepared to let his career play out. In fact, I can already see LaVine’s number hanging between Jerry Sloan’s and Bob Love’s in the United Center rafters.
