While the Bulls and Zach LaVine aren’t necessarily close to a deal, the team has had communication with LaVine and his representatives, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. According to Johnson, the Bulls assured LaVine that speculation they wanted to do a $14MM-per-year deal wasn’t accurate, and have “proactively” negotiated in good faith with his camp on a deal that could be in the range of $18MM annually.
That seems like a very reasonable number for LaVine, particularly since only two other teams can currently offer a deal worth anything close to that, and neither of those teams seems to be pushing hard for the Bulls guard. As Johnson details, the Bulls don’t want to let LaVine get away and aren’t eager to have him play on his qualifying offer, so it seems like there’s a good chance the two sides will eventually get something done.
Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- The market for Bucks RFA Jabari Parker hasn’t materialized like he hoped, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports, noting that there may be some league-wide concern about Parker’s attitude and health.
- After being waived by the Pacers, Al Jefferson is considering playing overseas for the 2018/19 season, Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said today (Twitter link via Tony East of 8 Points, 9 Seconds).
- Michael Beasley hasn’t heard from the Knicks since free agency began, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Beasley, who is drawing interest from a couple teams, is “disappointed” in the lack of interest from the Knicks, but understands that they’re “going young.”
- Longtime NBA forward Dorell Wright is finalizing an agreement to sign with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick.
I’d like to see Al come back to Charlotte
So basically Chicago are gonna outbid themselves & pay 18MM/year for ZLV… SMH, so when the good players like Markkanen, WCJ & maybe Dunn get to the point of getting paid, then what for Chicago, they have to low ball him, ain’t that special nor is he healthy.
This situation is different then say the Plumlee deal last year where the Nuggets overpaid after outbidding themselves. LaVine for all his health issues is still considered a cornerstone piece so if he feels low balled or disrespected in the process he could become a locker room issue or even demand a trade. He is also well connected and liked around the league so if he isn’t well taken care of he could detract from their recruiting of other talented players which is crucial to ending a rebuild and getting back to revelance. It would be smart to lock him up especially if they keep it below 20 mil a year. Personally I’d offer. 17.5 per for 3 years and say if he outperforms his contract he will be rewarded on the next one. They won’t need the money til Markkanen is up then anyways because as it stands they can already afford Dunn’s deal
Also I feel is a bit disrespectful the way Knicks dealing with Beasley, just like Boston with Smart, ain’t hard to be classy, after all is the players who we pay to watch, is not hard to be in touch & say, look we don’t want you, or we want you but just waiting to see how much other teams offer you so we can match or whatever, but keep the lines of communication open, just really disappointing the way this organizations conduct business, they ain’t pound of meat, they are people with family, feelings & emotions, just treat them with respect. Do all your business moves & tricks but just keep it honest.
Surprised Lakers haven’t made an offer for Beasley, or Smart actually.
Mills/Perry/Fizdale – seem to spend a lot of time talking to Berman. Hard to believe that not one of them could find some time to talk with MB.