Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons Zach LaVine deserves max contract extension

Zach LaVine has earned a max contract from the Chicago Bulls with numbers alone

In his best season yet as a pro, LaVine finally earned his first All Star bid. He finished the regular season with career highs across the board: points (27.4), rebounds (5.0), assists (4.9), field goal percentage (50.7) and three-point percentage (41.9).

LaVine’s 27.4 points per game was good for seventh-best in the league and fifth-best amongst guards. If that doesn’t scream elite, I don’t know what does.

LaVine also joined some rare company this year as he went on a tear, consistently scoring 20 points in 21 straight games.

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When you look at other top guards across the NBA who make far more money, annually, than LaVine currently does, it’s blatantly obvious he deserves a max extension. LaVine finished higher in scoring than Kylie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker — all of whom make top-tier cash.

He also shot better from the field than goes guys, along with also eclipsing Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal in that department. LaVine truly had a season for the books.

If the Bulls didn’t pay LaVine what he deserved, they would be stuck without a significant majority of their offense. Pay no mind to the defensive side of the ball. We know he still has work to do there. But, the Bulls would have a hard time keeping up without LaVine — just look at the two-week stretch they had to play without him this year.

One could argue that, if LaVine hadn’t been forced to sit out for those couple of weeks, the Bulls would currently be in the play-in tournament.