NEWSLETTER
In a recent sit down with NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, Chicago Bulls chairman Michael Reinsdorf assured Bulls fans that the team will not hesitate to spend if there’s an opportunity to win an NBA title.
“Absolutely. All you have to do is go back and look at the last number of championship teams, how many of them were in the luxury tax? With the nature of the NBA and having a soft cap, if you want to compete for championships, you have to be willing to spend into the tax,” Michael Reinsdorf said on the latest edition of the Bulls Talk Podcast. “I think most people will tell you, ‘I don’t want to spend into the tax if we’re not competing for championships if we’re not good enough. I don’t want to be the 8th seed or out of the playoffs and go into the luxury tax.’
“But when it comes to a team like this (the Bulls), and if we can take the necessary steps next year that allow us to compete for a championship, then for sure we’ll go into the tax. It’s part of the nature of the NBA.”
"If you want to compete for championships, you have to be willing to spend into the tax"
That's Bulls president/COO Michael Reinsdorf speaking on the Bulls Talk podcast,adding the franchise "absolutely" is willing to do so for contender
For @NBCSChicago: https://t.co/5lD4c8rgUV
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 25, 2022
If you’re a Bulls fan who is also a White Sox fan (the other team owned by the Reinsdorfs), you’ve heard a similar sentiment in recent years with Rick Hahn coining the phrase “the money will be spent” throughout the latter years of the White Sox rebuild. And lo and behold, Jerry Reinsdorf has indeed spent on the White Sox in their current competitive window, one that features legitimate championship expectations at this point.
Argue all you want about what the actual number means in relation to other MLB clubs; but Reinsdorf spent $140 million on his baseball team’s payroll last season (15th in MLB), giving us no reason not to believe Michael when it comes to his promise of the necessary spending to compete for an NBA championship. Even if it means paying the luxury tax to do so, which is good news for Bulls fans because this team can compete for a championship.
And, indeed, the Bulls’ first order of spending is right around the corner when Zach LaVine becomes a free agent eligible for a max contract from the Chicago Bulls, which Michael Reinsdorf hopes to get done: “My hope is that he’s here for years to come,” Reinsdorf said. “And Zach knows how we feel about him.”
Whether you talk to the guy that writes the checks (Michael), the Bulls front office, or LaVine himself, there’s no reason to think that LaVine isn’t getting his max deal from the Bulls this summer, so there’s no reason to fret over the looming task at this point.
Where Michael Reinsdorf’s words will be put to the test will be in how he 1) supplements the existing core (including an extended Zach LaVine) and 2) which of the players coming up on paydays will stick around? Coby White’s rookie deal has one year left after this season, and both Ayo Dosunmu and Javonte Green will be up for a new deal at the same time. The Bulls will have to spend to maximize the competitive window they find themselves in right now, so it’s nice to hear that the Bulls seem ready to do so.
