NEWSLETTER
As another season winds down for the Chicago Bulls, conversations about Zach LaVine’s future trend up.
The first-time All-Star and NBA’s 8th-leading scorer is under contract for just one more season in Chicago. As was the case this season, he will earn $19.5 million in the final year of his deal. For the Bulls, that’s an absolute steal. The other top-10 scorers with seven or more years of professional experience will all make at least $28 million next season. For Zach LaVine, on the other hand, that must be frustrating.
The good news is that LaVine will not have to wait that much longer for his big pay day. He will hit unrestricted free agency after the 2021-2022 season, and there is little reason to believe he is headed for anything less than a max contract. Well, at least that was the case, until today. Sources have told the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley that LaVine might be willing to give his organization a discount.
The Sun-Times, as well as several other media outlets, reported at the start of the 2020-21 campaign that it was important for LaVine to be given max money moving forward. However, there are several sources who said that might not be the case any longer, as adding key role players around him could persuade LaVine to give the Bulls a slight discount.
Who knows exactly what “slight” means to LaVine (or Cowley, for that matter), but I’m assuming it does not mean accepting the basic extension that can come his way this offseason. Headed into the last year of his four-year deal, LaVine is eligible for an extension that nets him 120 percent of his final year salary ($19.5 million). However, since that number is already below market value, his extension would be too. In fact, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the four-year $104 million the Bulls could offer this summer would be roughly $51 million less than LaVine could get in unrestricted free agency. So while LaVine might be feeling nice … he likely isn’t feeling that nice.
Where things could get more interesting is if the front office looks to renegotiate LaVine’s current contract. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus mapped out earlier this season how the Bulls could theoretically get LaVine to the max one offseason early.
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.
Considering a large part of the reason LaVine appears interested in taking a discount is to allow the franchise to build out the roster, I’m not sure eating most of their cap space this summer when he is already under contract makes sense. All parties might prefer to use any cap space they have this season to begin that process before revisiting a deal in a year. With that said, the sooner a franchise can ink a star player, the better. You also don’t want to risk LaVine’s generosity falling off the table.
No matter how the Bulls approach this situation moving forward, it feels like the trade deadline did a lot of the talking. LaVine’s new management demonstrated a clear desire to build around him with their acquisition of All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic. The move may not have worked out in the short term, but the move was also not made with only this year in mind. LaVine must see the vision alongside Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley; otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.
For more on LaVine, check this out:
Rival Executive: The Vucevic Trade is “A Really Big Deal” for Bulls Chances to Sign LaVine Long-Termhttps://t.co/vLiqYJoR3s
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 16, 2021
Zach LaVine Deserves Better Than Another Lost Seasonhttps://t.co/nw5fzvqAub
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) May 12, 2021
The Bulls Are Keeping Zach LaVine Happy at Exactly the Right Timehttps://t.co/5MeGEqkMdF
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 17, 2021
