NEWSLETTER
Do you think Zach LaVine is happy about the starting lineup change?
Zach LaVine on lineup change: “It showed to me that we’re definitely trying to win.”
Went on to praise Coby and Wendell for responding. Echoed Donovan’s comment that it wasn’t their fault but that adding vets to lineup is beneficial.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 17, 2021
The Bulls star player told reporters after the team’s dominant victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder that Billy Donovan’s decision showed him that the Bulls “we’re definitely trying to win.”
I think this is the same reaction many of us had when The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry initially broke the news, but to hear the team’s All-Star player put into words does hold some significance.
Not only do I think LaVine is craving a postseason berth, but I think he is more than eager to see his franchise take a competitive step. And while I know this conversation might feel pre-mature, it never hurts to make the best player on your team happy, especially in the midst of breakout season where he earned his first All-Star nod. After all, LaVine isn’t too far off from unrestricted free agency. The 26-year-old has one more season in Chicago making $19.5 million before he is in store for a massive max-level pay raise.
I’m not saying the Bulls are or should be walking on eggshells to please LaVine. I think he is probably pretty interested in hanging around Chicago long-term anyway. However, the front office can start thinking about a long-term future with him as soon as this offseason, and that’s noteworthy.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote about earlier this season, the Bulls can negotiate a four-year $104 million extension with LaVine later this summer.
The starting salary is reached by taking 120 percent of the number he makes in the final year of his contract. However, as most of us know, he is vastly underpaid for his current production, so that deal would likely undervalue him yet again. Under that logic, it’s safe to assume he would wait one more season before hitting unrestricted free agency with far fewer restrictions on his next contract.
There is a way the Bulls can immediately sweeten the pot, though. According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, who also wrote about LaVine’s contract situation earlier this year, the following is a possible option for the Bulls:
However, the Bulls can get around that limitation this offseason by using part of their projected cap space to renegotiate LaVine’s salary to the max and then extend his deal. LaVine will qualify for such an arrangement this offseason because he signed a four-year deal in 2018 (technically an offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings that the Bulls chose to match).
The Bulls would need roughly $14.2 million in cap space to give LaVine a raise (starting with the 2021-22 season) that would pay him approximately $151.7 million over four years. Although they would be using some of their financial flexibility on him instead of adding additional talent, they would no longer have to worry about losing him as an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
Would the Bulls really want to eat into their existing cap space to strike a long-term deal just one season early? Hard to say.
The broader point is that the front office does have to start weighing their options. I think there is no doubt LaVine is increasingly becoming a part of the organization’s plans moving forward, which means showing the guy the team is interested in winning ASAP can’t hurt their relationship. Again, I don’t think any of the decision-making at this moment is directly tied to LaVine’s happiness, but I do think this particular approach can have a positive impact on their relationship down the road.
Negotiations and open conversations become easier when it’s clear that everyone is working toward the same goal. I mean, who knows, maybe even LaVine takes a little less in the future to allow the Bulls more flexibility to grow! Too much wishful thinking? Eh, maybe.
