When the Bulls acquired Zach LaVine a year ago in a draft-night blockbuster with Minnesota, the team made it clear that it viewed the young guard as a long-term building block. The Bulls maintained that stance even after failing to agree to terms on a rookie scale extension with LaVine during the 2017 offseason, conveying that they fully intended to lock up LaVine in restricted free agency.
Now, with LaVine’s restricted free agency right around the corner, his return to the Bulls may not be the absolute lock it once was. According to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the “near universal support” LaVine once had internally in the organization isn’t there anymore.
A long-term deal for LaVine in Chicago remains a real possibility, but the Bulls plan to wait to see if he receives a big-money offer from another team, per Friedell. If the 23-year-old signs an offer sheet with a rival suitor, the Bulls could then decide if they want to match it.
LaVine’s ability to contribute in his first season with the Bulls was limited by his recovery from an ACL tear. The club should be able to reasonably expect more going forward from the former lottery pick than the modest production it got in his first 24 games in Chicago (16.7 PPG, .383/.341/.813 shooting).
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The Bulls liked several big men at the top of the draft, including Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Mohamed Bamba. However, the price to move up was too high for the team, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. According to Goodwill, Chicago likely would have had to surrender the No. 22 pick and a future first-rounder to trade up from No. 7.
- Executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson explained that it didn’t make sense for the Bulls to give up so many pieces at this point in their rebuild, Goodwill relays. “We feel we’re in a situation at this time of our rebuild that to give up assets, important draft assets to move up a spot or two, that didn’t make sense to us and the way we’re planning,” Paxson said. “We continue to talk about being patient and disciplined in how we make decisions.”
- General manager Gar Forman on the team’s trade options and eventual No. 7 pick: “We’re always looking and probing for opportunity. How close we got, we don’t know. We looked into some things. We thought it was more than a six-player draft. And Wendell [Carter Jr.] is a guy we’ve been high on for quite awhile.”
- The Bulls reportedly made a promise to No. 22 pick Chandler Hutchison very early in the pre-draft process. While Paxson and Forman declined to comment on that alleged promise, Paxson said the club likes the Boise State forward “a lot,” per Goodwill. “We scouted him early, scouted him often. He knew we liked him,” Paxson said. “He addresses a position of need. We had debates on wings and players at his position. His ability to rebound and take it off the board, those things are really valuable, especially the way we want to play.”
As long as Forman and Hoiberg are there, the Bulls will be stuck in the mud.
Add Paxson as well. 16 years at the helm, one Eastern Conference Finals appearance, one game won in said ECF appearance.
Nothing quite like pigeon holing yourself into the 22nd pick with a month of draft prep left to go! Making sure you have as little flexibility in the draft as possible for trades or to catch a player falling is surely the best move for any franchise!
A question not asked: what does it say about a prospect that he’s comfortable being selected #22 and not increasing his draft stock, with a month still to go in the process?
Wow I’m stupid, how could I not realize that making a promise to a player a month out means GarPax doesn’t have to work as hard!! Now I get it.
Objectively absurd post, man.
1) The Bulls conducted as many workouts as any other team. This is easily researched.
2) The Bulls brought in a number of guys who were chosen around 22- Walker, Divencenzo, R. Williams, etc. Williams was still on the board, and they still took Hutchison. Was it because they made a ‘promise’? No. It was because they liked him more for their team.
3) Work outs are mostly meaningless because every team is scouting every night of the college and international season. Scouts and execs are talking to coaches, gathering information. You’re acting as if this is a one month per year gig.
4) A promise is meaningless in drafts. They get broken all the time if unexpected players fall.
Sign him. Unless some team is dumb enough to give him a max deal.
Give Lavine a make good contract. Something around 15-17 million per season for 3 years. If he’s as good as he things, he’ll earn a much larger contract while he is still young. Still wonder if there’s still a deal to be had with Denver for Kenneth Faried’s & Darrell Arthur’s expiring contracts and Michael Porter for a few of our more expendable pieces. Create a young core and see what parts work and don’t work together.
Carter at the price of a 1st is better than Bamba at the price of two firsts. The versatile Hutchinson went about where he should, and Lavine will be matched not maxxed. Alls good so far, now do something with the capspace.
I wholeheartedly agree; as long as, they don’t do something STUPID with the cap space..They are going to go the cheapest way possible with LaVine, and that’s by seeing what other team offers him, then matching that contract. Although, I’m not so sure they’ll match a max deal, and it only takes one desperate team to offer him one..It’s been said they view LaVine as the centerpiece of the Butler trade, but I think that’s just because they didn’t know Markkanen would be so good..Even at the time of the trade, I think they just relatively lucked into Markkanen..Now though, everyone knows Markk is the Bulls best/most talented player moving forward, and with that being said, might the Bulls cheap management decide against a Max for LaVine..?? Idk..
Anyways, our beloved FINANCIAL CHAMPIONS, still need to use their cap space this season, and the one year “Reddick” type of deals wouldn’t be a bad idea. Add a solid vet or two, with a couple one year deals, build atleast a semi-competitive team, and then re-access their core moving forward after this season is over..Then, they’ll have a wider variety of superior options in 2019 to add some significant pieces to add to their core..
Although, even come 2019, we will just most likely hear the same old, “Be patient, we do not want to spend now, and risk ruining our financial flexibility for the upcoming, loaded 20XX class..”
It has been the same old song and dance since the years building up to the very first “LeBron” free agency class..Which ended up in Carlos Boozer…Then we heard it all again for a couple years, only to end up with Pau Gasol..Then again with Rajon Rondo and an old and decrepit Dwayne Wade…Undoubtedly, we will all be let down again, probably just to overpay for an aging, past his prime, veteran big and a small forward coming off a significant knee injury..Or heck, who am I kidding, it’ll probably be even worse..lol..
At least, we will all be incredibly suprised if this management team pulls off a successful rebuild..They’ve forced our expectations so low, I would sh*t a brick if this rebuild is a success..I probably wouldn’t know what to do with myself, just shocked and be in complete denial and disbelief…lol
He isn’t worth lax money, at least not yet. He needs to prove himself for another few years. Mainly, just that he can stay healthy.
I though he played really good when he was actually allowed to play. Not sure why everyone is all-of-a-sudden jumping on the kid, in Chicago. He can score.
ZLV is just a volume scorer, so of course he can score, just not effectively. WCJ the best draft pick of Chicago in a long time.
Reinsdorf’s loyalty to his Front Office guys has destroyed the White Sox and appears to be doing the same to the Bulls. GarPax needs to go, they shoulda been gone years ago. All I can say is I’m really glad he doesn’t own the Cubs.
@Bryzzo2016 you have it backwards, these front office guys are puppets. They do exactly what Reindorf tells them to do (not the other way around). Krause was able to run the selection of the team and influence Reindorf when it came to making the team better. If Reindorf told Krause, “Hey, sell that 2nd round pick for me,” Krause would have talked some sense into Reindorf and it would never have happened. But these guys at the helm today, “Yes boss, great idea boss, you’re a genius boss!” If that weren’t the case, they’d been fired a number of times. Reindorf wanted that 2nd round draft pick money, not Gar/Pax!