Bulls Rumors: Zach LaVine's Max Contract Includes Player Option, 15% Trade Kicker
July 9, 2022
More details emerged Saturday regarding All-Star guard Zach LaVine's five-year, $215.2 million max contract with the Chicago Bulls.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, it includes a player option for 2026-27 and a 15 percent trade kicker.
After the sides reportedly came to terms last week, the Bulls made it official Thursday, extending what has been a fruitful, five-year stay for LaVine in the Windy City.
The 27-year-old LaVine has been named an All-Star in each of the past two seasons after steadily improving with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bulls.
His best season came in 2020-21 when he averaged a career-high 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.4 three-pointers per game while shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from beyond the arc.
LaVine was also part of the United States men's national basketball team during summer 2021 and helped lead it to an Olympic gold medal.
While LaVine wasn't as productive or efficient last season, he still had another excellent season with averages of 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 trifectas.
The Bulls were better as a whole, going 46-36 and reaching the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, though they fell 4-1 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Taking part in the playoffs for the first time in his career, LaVine averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.3 three-pointers in four games.
With the Bulls' significant progress, re-signing LaVine was a must if they wanted to build on that in 2022-23.
Chicago will return largely the same roster, though it added a couple of veterans in center Andre Drummond and guard Goran Dragic.
Also, the trio of Lonzo Ball, Patrick Williams and Alex Caruso missed a lot of time last season because of injuries, so the Bulls should be better if they stay healthy.
DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic will feature along with LaVine plus up-and-comers Williams, Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White.
With the Bulls finally having continuity after years of turnover, they should be players in the East.