The Chicago Bulls may lose Zach LaVine this summer, from the sound of it

The Chicago Bulls’ tumultuous 2021-2022 season has come to a close with an early playoff exit, thanks to a first round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chicago losing the series 4-1 wasn’t much of a surprise, especially considering how the Bulls played down the stretch this past season. After beginning the year atop the Eastern Conference for much of the time, the Bulls finished the season with quite the downfall.

Falling all the way to the sixth seed, the Bulls limped into the postseason after narrowly avoiding the play-in tournament. Thinking they might have had a chance to stick with Milwaukee, Bulls fans counted on DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine to carry the team.

Both DeRozan and LaVine struggled, however, and the Bulls looked reminiscent of the team which lost the majority of their games after the All Star Break. Now, the Bulls and LaVine, specifically, are faced with an uncertain future.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine certainly doesn’t sound completely committed to sticking around in free agency this summer.

After the season’s end, LaVine spoke to the media in regards to this season and his future plans. He will enter this summer as a free agent, and from the sound of it, he very well could be on his way out.

During the regular season, LaVine averaged 24.4 points on 47.6 percent shooting, plus 38.9 percent from downtown. During the postseason, when the Bulls needed him to step up as a leader and establish himself, LaVine did the opposite.

He was less aggressive, and clearly hampered by the knee ailment.

During the series with Milwaukee, LaVine averaged 19.3 points on 42.9 percent shooting and 37.5 percent from three-point range. LaVine also took two-less shots per game than he did in the regular season, which is not what the Bulls needed from him.

It was a disappointing end to a season that started so well for both LaVine and DeRozan. The two of them formed a special bond this year, with LaVine heeding the superstar reigns to DeRozan for much of the year. It was actually refreshing to see LaVine happy with DeRozan taking over as the Bulls were winning games.

The one-two punch between the two of them was a nice, pleasant surprise, especially considering some experts thought the DeRozan signing would never work with this roster.

Should LaVine decide to come back to Chicago, assuming they extend a max offer his way, then the Bulls should have a good chance of making a deeper playoff run next year once Lonzo Ball comes back.

For now, we wait on the postseason to come to a close and look ahead to the free agency period this summer. Hopefully, LaVine and the Bulls can come to an agreement to keep him in Chicago.