(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine’s contract conversation led the way for NBA people since the season ended. He was probably the biggest free agent out there and that made a lot of Chicago Bulls fans nervous.
However, you don’t have to be nervous anymore. LaVine has agreed to a five-year deal worth 215.2 million dollars with the Bulls. This is a maximum contract for him. There is a player option in year five but he is going to be a Chicago Bulls player going forward.
This is amazing news for both sides. Now, LaVine is super-rich and the Bulls get to keep their best player for a long time. It didn’t always look like LaVine was going to be worth this kind of money so it is good to see him there now.
The Bulls landed LaVine in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 2017. It is honestly amazing to see what LaVine has become since this trade as he has come a long way to become a player worthy of a max contract.
NBA All-Star Zach LaVine has agreed to a five-year, $215.2 million maximum contract to return to the Chicago Bulls, with a player option in Year 5, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022
The Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine are in agreement on a very large contract.
Now, it is time for the Bulls to make him worth every penny. There are some other really good players around him like DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Andre Drummond, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Cobe White amongst others.
They have a long way to go before they are championship-caliber but they took a big step in 2021-22. Now that LaVine is locked up for a while, they shouldn’t be taking any steps back. It is about taking steps forward now.
It would be amazing to see them land Kevin Durant but that just feels like too much of a stretch. Instead, they should be looking at the other free agents and trade options to see who gives them the best chance to win it all.
Competing with the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics amongst others in the Eastern Conference needs to be their goal now. Having Zach LaVine there to help them will make it possible.
He needs to do just a bit better at staying healthy but outside of that, we know he is an elite player that deserves this money. Hopefully, this is the first step towards the next amazing Bulls playoff run.