With most of the superstars originally expected to set up the 2021 free agency now signed on to expansions, the NBA’s shift has shifted to the less-announced class of 2022. With Stephen Curry, he would be ahead of schedule re-signed with the Warriors and Bradley Beal looks like Zach LaVine, who is a candidate for this off-season, is possibly the most popular free agent on the market out of season … when he gets there.
The Bulls obviously want to extend him before his free agency, but according to A. Sherrod Blakely of Bleacher Reports, competing executives do not expect LaVine to extend. That would indeed make him an unrestricted free agent in 2022, but there are a few circumstances in which the Bulls can offer him such an enticing deal that he has little choice but to act in Chicago again. LaVine’s contract negotiations can go one of four ways:
- LaVine is eligible for a traditional veteran expansion this season. Such an agreement could last five seasons (including any years still available, so four new ones in LaVine’s case), could start with a 20 percent increase in the first year of the new contract (i.e. from LaVine’s $ 19.5 million salary for the next season, will therefore start at $ 23.4 million) and may thereafter include annual increases of eight percent. In total, LaVine could sign a new deal that would secure him about $ 104.8 million in new money over four years. If you see the following set of numbers, you will understand why it is very unlikely that he will accept this offer.
- In theory, LaVine could do nothing. Then, in the summer of 2022, he would be eligible to sign a five-year contract with the Bulls starting with 30 percent of the salary cap that would include eight percent increases, or a four-year deal with another team that the same starting figure, but with only five percent increases. The target amount for 2022-23 is $ 115.7 million. Therefore, LaVine will be eligible for a $ 201.3 million five-year deal with the Bulls or a $ 149.3 million four-year deal for another team.
- If the Bulls want to pay LaVine more than the $ 104.8 million they are allowed to host LaVine this off-season, they can use the CBA’s renegotiation and expansion mechanism to do so. The problem with that is that it requires hood space. The forecast amount for next season is $ 112.4 million, which will make LaVine’s maximum 30 percent approximately $ 33.7 million. That’s $ 14.2 million more than the salary his contract currently requires, which means the Bulls would have to create at least $ 14.2 million in space to push him to the figure. The Bulls currently have nine players in the books next season, earning $ 99.3 million, so they are within striking distance of the figure. However, that would mean giving up all of their free agencies, including Lauri Markkanen, and remember that if they want to add more talent through free agency, they need to create more space for the hairstyle. They could clear an extra $ 15 million space by refusing Ryan Arcidiacono’s team option and relinquishing Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky, both of whom are only partially guaranteed for next season, but those are all players the Bulls would like retain. In other words, if the Bulls wanted to go this route with LaVine, it would be extremely difficult for them to get enough space free to chase a high free agent as well. They are linked to point guards like Lonzo Ball, and so they will have to find an alternative method of acquiring such a player without the means to create enough space to draw that player straight.
- There is one hail-mary scenario that enables the Bulls to pay LaVine more than the $ 104.8 million they are currently entitled to, without affecting their cap space. If LaVine makes an All-NBA team this off-season, the veteran expansions will be limited and LaVine will be eligible for a supermax contract. It will keep his 2021-22 salary where it is now, but give him an absolutely huge deal after that. The supermax starts at 35 percent of the cap in the year it starts and increases by eight percent annually. Based on current projections, LaVine will pay about $ 234.8 million in new money, in addition to the $ 19.5 million it already owes for next season. If he does not sign an extension this season and then appoint an All-NBA team next season, he will be eligible for next season with the Bulls.
What does all this mean practically for LaVine and the Bulls? If Chicago offers him the first expansion, there is no reason to believe he would take it. The best result for Chicago’s short-term fortune would be that LaVine is named to an All-NBA team so they can give him a market value expansion while retaining the space to improve the team around him. It should be noted, however, that Chicago once traded Jimmy Butler for not paying the supermax to him. This is not a contract that the Bulls have historically handed out lightly. There is also no guarantee that LaVine will accept it. At this stage, we do not know enough about his priorities. If his only goal is to contest a championship or play in a certain type of market, he may prefer to sign elsewhere. But with Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal likely to occupy the waiting spots in the All-NBA teams this season, this scenario is unlikely to play out.
The situation we are likely to experience the most is that Chicago LaVine is offering the renegotiation and extension for just over $ 200 million. The Bulls will likely hope for a response from LaVine before the free agency begins. This way, if he refused, they could use their cap space to add talent to him in the hopes that he would sign again in 2022.
Eventually, whether it’s out of season, Chicago will have the opportunity to offer LaVine a huge contract offer. If money is his top priority, he will take it. Not only can the Bulls offer him a higher salary than any other team, but Chicago is the NBA’s third largest media market. Being the face of the Bulls offers many marketing opportunities.
But if LaVine’s goal is to win, the Bulls still have a lot of work to do. They swapped Nikola Vucevic by the deadline hoping it would give LaVine another star to win with, but the duo are only 3-7 in their first ten games together. The combination is a good start, but it’s a long way from championship battle, and if the Bulls can’t find a way to make further upgrades before LaVine makes a decision on his future, the chances are they’ll lose him. to a stronger team.