Zach LaVine's impending Free Agency

[BullChit]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2021/11/18/22790183/bulls-zach-lavine-has-a-deep-conversation-about-being-a-max-player

Say what you want about Cowley but he didn't hold back when face to face with Zach and then Zach being Zach handled his questioning very well.

I'd rather see this in an unedited sit down video and could do without Cowleys pithy writing between answers however still a good interview.

[bearadonisdna]

Ay chihuahua what did I start ?
Lol jk

But does any team want to pay any player the full max?
Usually only when prying him from another team .

Full max can be crippling cap wise hopefully we can get for a little under retail value.

He isn’t taking a discount and Bulls would be fools to even resquest. He is arguably the best SG in the league right now. After a slow start is he averaging 26 ppg 49/40/88 splits. And his defense isn’t a liability any more.

Talking about the Bulls not paying Zach the max is basically **** posting.The thresholds for a max has been set long ago and he far exceeds it. The major was not winning and that is happening now. He is not giving a discount and there is no reason he should. He talked about wanted respected. No offering him a max right away would be a major disrespect. We are all in Zach though so just stop…

Did the Knicks make a mistake paying Randle? He looks much worse this. Shooting 41 percent for a PF is awful. Are they gonna pay Barrett. He looks like a role player at best.

Randle took a very team friendly extension. That is after being 2nd team all nba. This would the ideal number for most nba franchises.
Barrett is a completely different circumstance. He is on a rookie contract, he will be dealing with RFA etc.

comparing him to randle is actually good convo, comparing him to barrett just makes you look salty.

[transplant]

Interesting. We've gone from a majority opinion that LaVine isn't worth a max contract to a fear that a max contract offer won't be enough.

He'll get a max contract offer and it will be enough.

[WindyCityBorn]

Interesting. We've gone from a majority opinion that LaVine isn't worth a max contract to a fear that a max contract offer won't be enough.

He'll get a max contract offer and it will be enough.

No one is worried about Zach not accepting the max.

[WindyCityBorn]

Ay chihuahua what did I start ?
Lol jk

But does any team want to pay any player the full max?
Usually only when prying him from another team .

Full max can be crippling cap wise hopefully we can get for a little under retail value.

He isn’t taking a discount and Bulls would be fools to even resquest. He is arguably the best SG in the league right now. After a slow start is he averaging 26 ppg 49/40/88 splits. And his defense isn’t a liability any more.

Talking about the Bulls not paying Zach the max is basically **** posting.The thresholds for a max has been set long ago and he far exceeds it. The major was not winning and that is happening now. He is not giving a discount and there is no reason he should. He talked about wanted respected. No offering him a max right away would be a major disrespect. We are all in Zach though so just stop…

Did the Knicks make a mistake paying Randle? He looks much worse this. Shooting 41 percent for a PF is awful. Are they gonna pay Barrett. He looks like a role player at best.

Randle took a very team friendly extension. That is after being 2nd team all nba. This would the ideal number for most nba franchises.
Barrett is a completely different circumstance. He is on a rookie contract, he will be dealing with RFA etc.

comparing him to randle is actually good convo, comparing him to barrett just makes you look salty.

Randle severely overachieved last season. He is clearly not an All-NBA caliber player so he smartly took the smaller deal. Zach is actually better this season. Close to the same scoring efficiency despite an sprained thumb and massively improved on defense. Even Cowley likes him on a max now.

[kodo]

Max contracts are usually the most value efficient contracts in the league. At $40M you're getting Lavine who gives you 26-27 ppg on 61% TS.

If you get cheap, you now sign Evan Fournier for $20M who gives you 12 ppg on 52% TS. And he's not enough, so you trade for Eric Bledsoe for $18M for 10 ppg on 49% TS. So you've now used up two slots for a combined 22 ppg on around 50% TS instead of 1 player slot for 27 ppg on 61% TS, and saved a grand total of $2M per year. Congratulations, you now have a **** Gar Foreman team. Now let's use all that extra money on Jabari Parker and Otto Porter.

Most teams in the league would love to have a player like Lavine for $40M versus 2 guards on "reasonable" contracts like Gary Harris + Markelle Fultz ($37M combined). That $3M difference is not worth the massive gap in quality.

[bearadonisdna]

He isn’t taking a discount and Bulls would be fools to even resquest. He is arguably the best SG in the league right now. After a slow start is he averaging 26 ppg 49/40/88 splits. And his defense isn’t a liability any more.

Talking about the Bulls not paying Zach the max is basically **** posting.The thresholds for a max has been set long ago and he far exceeds it. The major was not winning and that is happening now. He is not giving a discount and there is no reason he should. He talked about wanted respected. No offering him a max right away would be a major disrespect. We are all in Zach though so just stop…

Did the Knicks make a mistake paying Randle? He looks much worse this. Shooting 41 percent for a PF is awful. Are they gonna pay Barrett. He looks like a role player at best.

Randle took a very team friendly extension. That is after being 2nd team all nba. This would the ideal number for most nba franchises.
Barrett is a completely different circumstance. He is on a rookie contract, he will be dealing with RFA etc.

comparing him to randle is actually good convo, comparing him to barrett just makes you look salty.

Randle severely overachieved last season. He is clearly not an All-NBA caliber player so he smartly took the smaller deal. Zach is actually better this season. Close to the same scoring efficiency despite an sprained thumb and massively improved on defense. Even Cowley likes him on a max now.

Well I think we both hope Zach is all nba caliber as well but that remains to be seen right? That’s your big knock on Julius.

For Julius it was a fair contract to both sides . The bulls didn’t even make the playoffs last year . All of a sudden it seems like bulls fans turned into Santa Claus. We are talking about 42m per year . Maybe things have changed , maybe it’s the twighlight zone but ‘x ’ player has zero playoff appearances , zero all nba. Right now he is a shoe-in for all star, we hope.

If he has to be maxed then so be it but you can’t get pissed because someone hope and say hey maybe he can get 35m per year and don’t take us to the cleaners .
The disconnect here is that ya’ll are like 42m and not flinching . Well I’m flinching . Ok I’m not afraid to admit that because I would like to think there is more middle ground. Under gun point , I pull the trigger , ok I get it.

[Michael Jackson]

Max contracts are usually the most value efficient contracts in the league. At $40M you're getting Lavine who gives you 26-27 ppg on 61% TS.

If you get cheap, you now sign Evan Fournier for $20M who gives you 12 ppg on 52% TS. And he's not enough, so you trade for Eric Bledsoe for $18M for 10 ppg on 49% TS. So you've now used up two slots for a combined 22 ppg on around 50% TS instead of 1 player slot for 27 ppg on 61% TS, and saved a grand total of $2M per year. Congratulations, you now have a **** Gar Foreman team. Now let's use all that extra money on Jabari Parker and Otto Porter.

Most teams in the league would love to have a player like Lavine for $40M versus 2 guards on "reasonable" contracts like Gary Harris + Markelle Fultz ($37M combined). That $3M difference is not worth the massive gap in quality.

Yeah but you could use that extra 3 million on a guy like Archi. Thats huge!!!

[WindyCityBorn]

Randle took a very team friendly extension. That is after being 2nd team all nba. This would the ideal number for most nba franchises.
Barrett is a completely different circumstance. He is on a rookie contract, he will be dealing with RFA etc.

comparing him to randle is actually good convo, comparing him to barrett just makes you look salty.

Randle severely overachieved last season. He is clearly not an All-NBA caliber player so he smartly took the smaller deal. Zach is actually better this season. Close to the same scoring efficiency despite an sprained thumb and massively improved on defense. Even Cowley likes him on a max now.

Well I think we both hope Zach is all nba caliber as well but that remains to be seen right? That’s your big knock on Julius.

For Julius it was a fair contract to both sides . The bulls didn’t even make the playoffs last year . All of a sudden it seems like bulls fans turned into Santa Claus. We are talking about 42m per year . Maybe things have changed , maybe it’s the twighlight zone but ‘x ’ player has zero playoff appearances , zero all nba. Right now he is a shoe-in for all star, we hope.

If he has to be maxed then so be it but you can’t get pissed because someone hope and say hey maybe he can get 35m per year and don’t take us to the cleaners .
The disconnect here is that ya’ll are like 42m and not flinching . Well I’m flinching . Ok I’m not afraid to admit that because I would like to think there is more middle ground. Under gun point , I pull the trigger , ok I get it.

He is literally most efficient scoring guard after Curry and has become a decent defender. We are winning and look like top 4 seed right now. You seem to be under the impression that only top 10 players get a max. That isn’t how it works. There are dozens of teams that would pay Zach the max. It’s not like the Bulls would be overpaying.

[bearadonisdna]

Max contracts are usually the most value efficient contracts in the league. At $40M you're getting Lavine who gives you 26-27 ppg on 61% TS.

If you get cheap, you now sign Evan Fournier for $20M who gives you 12 ppg on 52% TS. And he's not enough, so you trade for Eric Bledsoe for $18M for 10 ppg on 49% TS. So you've now used up two slots for a combined 22 ppg on around 50% TS instead of 1 player slot for 27 ppg on 61% TS, and saved a grand total of $2M per year. Congratulations, you now have a **** Gar Foreman team. Now let's use all that extra money on Jabari Parker and Otto Porter.

Most teams in the league would love to have a player like Lavine for $40M versus 2 guards on "reasonable" contracts like Gary Harris + Markelle Fultz ($37M combined). That $3M difference is not worth the massive gap in quality.

That’s some grade A finagling .
Let’s say Fournier 18m
And kemba 8m

Because that’s more realistic than your altruistic reality that saves a team only 2m dollars.
So that’s about 26m for 24ppg

Zach is 42m for 26 ppg.
Sure you make your point that’s there is some efficiency there. But then again is 2ppg more really worth 16m dollars?

You make a good point though . Good post .

[WindyCityBorn]

Max contracts are usually the most value efficient contracts in the league. At $40M you're getting Lavine who gives you 26-27 ppg on 61% TS.

If you get cheap, you now sign Evan Fournier for $20M who gives you 12 ppg on 52% TS. And he's not enough, so you trade for Eric Bledsoe for $18M for 10 ppg on 49% TS. So you've now used up two slots for a combined 22 ppg on around 50% TS instead of 1 player slot for 27 ppg on 61% TS, and saved a grand total of $2M per year. Congratulations, you now have a **** Gar Foreman team. Now let's use all that extra money on Jabari Parker and Otto Porter.

Most teams in the league would love to have a player like Lavine for $40M versus 2 guards on "reasonable" contracts like Gary Harris + Markelle Fultz ($37M combined). That $3M difference is not worth the massive gap in quality.

That’s some grade A finagling .
Let’s say Fournier 18m
And kemba 8m

Because that’s more realistic than your altruistic reality that saves a team only 2m dollars.
So that’s about 26m for 24ppg

Zach is 42m for 26 ppg.
Sure you make your point that’s there is some efficiency there. But then again is 2ppg more really worth 16m dollars?

You make a good point though . Good post .

No GM with a brain would take Walker/Fournier over Zach even for $12 million less.

[Michael Jackson]

Interesting. We've gone from a majority opinion that LaVine isn't worth a max contract to a fear that a max contract offer won't be enough.

He'll get a max contract offer and it will be enough.

That’s what happens when a player takes his talent and puts the work in year after year. It’s a beautiful thing. Obviously the max is enough, personally I just think he earned it by not being a malcontent on his last contract that he had to force the Bulls to pay him (anti Pippen). Good for Zach. Really hard not to like his career here, even with his warts and all. He is self aware of his weaknesses and works on them. Up next… Lonzo Ball and that guy fits a similar mode. Great talent needed some work and keeps on working. They are like the opposite of Ben Simmons.

[patagonia]

$40m will be a good value once the new tv contracts are signed in a few years.

[kodo]

Regardless of what we think basketball-wise, ownership probably keeps him just from a business standpoint.
This iteration of the Bulls is #1 in league attendance, up significantly from what we looked like pre-covid.

2021: #1 (20,404)
2020: #11 (18,804)

I'd imagine merch and related income is up as well. Michael did an abrupt change in franchise direction for a reason, firing the longest standing exec in the league in Foreman and cleaning house. I would guess dropping out of the top 10 was noted, as an indictment of the Foreman way of running things. And Zach was surely going to leave with Gar still in charge.

Bulls aren't going to win a title as constructed. But maybe to ownership they're already #1 where it matters.

[Bulls2021]

Regardless of what we think basketball-wise, ownership probably keeps him just from a business standpoint.
This iteration of the Bulls is #1 in league attendance, up significantly from what we looked like pre-covid.

2021: #1 (20,404)
2020: #11 (18,804)

I'd imagine merch and related income is up as well. Michael did an abrupt change in franchise direction for a reason, firing the longest standing exec in the league in Foreman and cleaning house. I would guess dropping out of the top 10 was noted, as an indictment of the Foreman way of running things. And Zach was surely going to leave with Gar still in charge.

Bulls aren't going to win a title as constructed. But maybe to ownership they're already #1 where it matters.

How can you state this as a fact given how well they have been playing? They have 3 legitimate All-stars and great role players. This team is definitely a contender.

[TheFinishSniper]

Regardless of what we think basketball-wise, ownership probably keeps him just from a business standpoint.
This iteration of the Bulls is #1 in league attendance, up significantly from what we looked like pre-covid.

2021: #1 (20,404)
2020: #11 (18,804)

I'd imagine merch and related income is up as well. Michael did an abrupt change in franchise direction for a reason, firing the longest standing exec in the league in Foreman and cleaning house. I would guess dropping out of the top 10 was noted, as an indictment of the Foreman way of running things. And Zach was surely going to leave with Gar still in charge.

Bulls aren't going to win a title as constructed. But maybe to ownership they're already #1 where it matters.

Ofcourse there is. That's policy of this franchise. And you know that's policy because we had GarPax at helm. Results didnt matter as long audience was in seats. There is no audience in seats, GarPax are getting fired all of the sudden.

We should not forget this just because AKME is on helm. Owner is still same. I still wanna see Bulls sold. Now more than ever. Cause if Bulls are good some schmuck here will give Jerry credit for this.

[HoopsterJones]

It’s going to be a supermax contract which is likely 200m+ over 5 years. He’ll have to hit the escalators to get the true supermax which is dependent on All NBA / MVP selections. That’s the going rate and the Bulls should pay it.

[FriedRise]

Read on Twitter

Tier 1: The max guys

1. Zach LaVine, SG, Bulls: Is it crazy to say Zach LaVine is the No. 1 free agent in the 2022 market? Certainly, he’s not the most famous one, but in terms of projected value on a four-year contract, who offers a better proposition than LaVine?

He’s a 26-year-old All-Star perimeter player, which means his next contract is likely to offer the value sweet spot of a good player’s prime years. Chicago will surely offer him a five-year max deal over the summer, one that will be for $207 million unless he makes All-NBA and qualifies for the supermax, in which case it can go up to $242 million. The way the Bulls have looked so far this year, it seems unlikely LaVine would turn that down.

[WindyCityBorn]

Read on Twitter

Tier 1: The max guys

1. Zach LaVine, SG, Bulls: Is it crazy to say Zach LaVine is the No. 1 free agent in the 2022 market? Certainly, he’s not the most famous one, but in terms of projected value on a four-year contract, who offers a better proposition than LaVine?

He’s a 26-year-old All-Star perimeter player, which means his next contract is likely to offer the value sweet spot of a good player’s prime years. Chicago will surely offer him a five-year max deal over the summer, one that will be for $207 million unless he makes All-NBA and qualifies for the supermax, in which case it can go up to $242 million. The way the Bulls have looked so far this year, it seems unlikely LaVine would turn that down.

So happy to Zach ascend to stardom. He will be well known soon enough.

[kodo]

Hollinger had Lavine over Beal, Kyrie, and Harden. Can't disagree, I'd definitely put Zach & Beal on their own tier. Kyrie you just have no idea what will happen, and giving a 10 year vet max contract to Harden at years 33-37 might not be a great value.

I'm curious how much Miles Bridges will get paid, it will be nice number.