It sounds like the Sacramento Kings are still serious about signing Zach LaVine to an offer sheet.
While this was supposed to be the Summer of LeBron, the drama was over in the first 24 hours of free agency. For the first time in seemingly forever, NBA writer actually got to enjoy their Fourth of July without waiting around for the big free agent shoe to drop.
There are still rumors about a Kawhi Leonard trade, but for the most part, this summer will be devoid of the typical free agency chaos. If you’re looking for counter-programming to the LeBron drama, you don’t have to look that far north of Los Angeles.
Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast contained a nugget about the Sacramento Kings and their continued interest in restricted free agent Zach LaVine. Woj noted that the interest is still “pretty serious”, and that the guard could be the last restricted free agent on the market capable of pulling in a huge contract.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll be paid by the Kings. Should Sacramento sign LaVine to an offer sheet, the Bulls can match the offer and bring him back to Chicago. The problem with that seems to be the Kings value LaVine more than the Bulls, at least financially speaking.
The last thing Chicago wants to do is handcuff itself when it comes to future money. There’s a good chance that, in a few offseasons, the Bulls can pull down big name free agents with cap space and a talented young core of players. LaVine is both potentially part of that core and part of cap conundrum. Giving LaVine anything more than $16M per season is something the Bulls would absolutely love to avoid. Sacramento has been rumored to be willing to offer $80M over four-years, which is something the Bulls have the cap space to match but would limit flexibility in the future.
Nothing has happened yet, and these rumblings have been out there for a while. We’re likely headed towards a LaVine Missle Crisis at some point, and it all comes down to a) how much the Kings actually offer and b) if the Bulls think LaVine in their core is worth that.
If nothing else, the LaVine drama is a nice coda to the anticlimactic Summer of LeBron.