Well, that escalated rather quickly. Zach LaVine appears to be sticking around as a Chicago Bull for the foreseeable future.
While it always seemed like a formality that the Chicago Bulls front office would match whatever offer sheet the high flyer would sign, things moved rather quickly. The Sacramento Kings were long rumored to have interest in the shooting guard.
Their interest was clearly genuine. Late Friday evening the Kings pulled the trigger and made a very attractive offer to Lavine.
League source confirms Zach LaVine has signed 4-year, $80M offer sheet with Kings. @ShamsCharania 1st. Trib reported this as possibility on eve of free agency.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 7, 2018
Since the Bulls weren’t willing to let a major piece in the Jimmy Butler deal slip, they moved quickly to match. In the time since the deal was met with mixed reviews:
I like Zach LaVine but the Bulls were better off having another bad year and hoping to get a high pick and throw around some cash at 2019 free agents.
— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) July 7, 2018
Given ceiling, Zach LaVine has a real chance to wind up worth his salary in a few years, especially with cap increasing. Aaron Gordon is in the same boat. That they're tied together due to this market will make this fun to look back on. I think I'm in the minority in liking both.
— Tony Mejia (@MejiaDinero) July 7, 2018
My model gives LaVine a 2.4% chance of providing equal or greater value on his new contract with an expected range (+/- 2 standard deviations) of between $19.5M and $78.2M.
— Jacob Goldstein (@JacobEGoldstein) July 7, 2018
While it always seemed like a formality that the Chicago Bulls front office would match whatever offer sheet the high flyer would sign, things moved rather quickly. The Sacramento Kings were long rumored to have interest in the shooting guard.
Their interest was clearly genuine:
Can confirm @wojespn report that offer sheet has language protecting team against LaVine’s surgically repaired left knee, per source. Bulls would’ve matched anyway but team-friendly clause beneficial.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 7, 2018
In the event of another major knee injury, it would seem the Bulls have their bases covered. Sunday afternoon, the front office officially matched the deal.
All that being said, this new news does bring some questions with the current roster: who is affected the most by LaVine’s return?