Zach LaVine's impending Free Agency

[jacoby1us]

no arguments here, Zach Lavine has earned his chips and DIP.
SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kodo]

He was too underpaid on his last contract to expect him to take any significant discount. Even when he gets his supermax next season, the Bulls will have paid him an average of $20.3M per year over this Chicago career. He was pretty bitter about how the franchise saw him on the last contract and there were no good feelings towards Chicago. AK has done a lot to change that 180, don't start going backwards. Zach Lavine was 100% a flight risk until recently.

And as a franchise we don't want to start undoing all the work AKME & Michael have done in showing this is a serious, competitive top market franchise and not just a bottom bargain basement franchise operating in a big city. We want to be giving out max contracts and showing we can spend.

Top free agents aren't impressed with front offices who nickel and dime players to save billionaire owners a few bucks. They are attracted to franchises that spend, and spend freely. Where does everyone want to go? Golden State, Brooklyn, LA, etc.. If word gets out that we are trying to cheap out on one of the only good things to happen to this franchise since the Rose era, that would be a major hit to our image and take us right back to the Gar Foreman years.

[jnrjr79]

Why should he?

He is in the absolute prime of his career? And he was basically on a bargain contract the last few years as he was ascending to stardom, so as far as he should be concerned, he already has given them a few years of play on a discount.

When it comes to players like him. who many of us Bulls fans doubted he could even become a true all-NBA quality player (myself included), you don't overthink it, you just give him the max, keep him happy, make sure he understands his importance for the franchise and keep moving forward.

He is still only 26, so even if it was a super-dooper MAX, I feel good about it knowing that he is right at the start of his prime. It's the contract after this upcoming one I may need to look deeper into where his health is at, and where the team is at that point, but this upcoming contract extension is the easiest decision ever.

Agreed. It’s a ridiculous assertion. Zach is probably the most underpaid star in the league not on a rookie contract. He deserves all the money he can get given his production and the work he has put in to get there.

Yeah Zach already is on a hometown discount. I mean obviously it would be better if he took less money it would be better for the Bulls but man the dude has earned his money... pay the man his money

Well, he's not a hometown discount because he's being paid according to an offer sheet he signed with Sacramento, not the Bulls, but yes, he is currently massively underpaid. The Bulls should not, and IMO will not, get cute and try to offer him anything less than the maximum amount they can.

Relatedly, remember how much people were worried Zach was getting a massive overpay at $20M/year when the Bulls matched the Sacramento offer? Good times.