Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine opened some eyes with his comments on his upcoming free agency during his exit interview last week. To sum it all up, he wouldn't commit to the Bulls and made sure to note that he's going to take his time and enjoy the free agency process. While he's grateful for his time in Chicago, he could very well take meetings with other teams.
This had some Bulls fans panicking on social media as these comments were coming across the wire. After the Bulls finally made the playoffs again after a miserable four years, would LaVine really pack up and leave DeMar DeRozan and company?
While it's certainly still possible, there's no reason to panic about these comments right now. LaVine is a Klutch Sports client and is firing an opening salvo in contract negotiations. The Bulls star is expecting a max deal and wants to be paid what he deserves.
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On the latest episode of Blue Wire's Cash Considerations podcast, I explained why Bulls fans shouldn't go too crazy after hearing these LaVine comments. As long as Chicago pays up, he should be back in the fold:
“In the words of Teddy KGB from Rounders: Pay that man his money! Don't haggle too much. Don't insult him. Ultimately, I came down from my initial shock of his comments that made it almost seem like that he's leaning toward leaving. Who knows, maybe he is leaning toward leaving. I obviously don't know anything, but I think a lot of that was just him sending a warning to the Bulls to make sure that he gets paid.”
The Bulls have several key advantages in this situation, with the ability to offer more years and money than any other suitor. They can offer a five-year deal worth $212 million, while other teams can offer four years and $160 million. The hope is that extra money and Chicago's improvement back to relevance will entice LaVine to re-sign. Again, there's always the possibility that LaVine does actually want a fresh start elsewhere, but there's little evidence right now about that being true and the Bulls must not give him any reasons to get a wandering eye.
Listen here to the full episode of Cash Considerations:
Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast is part of the Blue Wire Podcast Network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.
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