Zach LaVine all but tells the Bulls not to match the Kings’ offer
Zach LaVine doesn’t sound like a player who wants to stay with the Chicago Bulls, and his public comments won’t sit well with his current team.
It’s easy to forget that NBA players, like regular humans, have a need to feel wanted. Evidently, Zach LaVine isn’t feeling the love from his current franchise. His latest comments make it seem like he wants to ditch the Bulls for a move to Sacramento.
The Kings elected to sign the talented but unproven shooting guard to a four-year offer sheet that would pay him a total of $78 million. The Bulls have made LaVine a contract offer, but the current Kings offer is significantly larger. Understandably, that’s prompted questions over just how much the Bulls value LaVine.
Of course, asking those questions in private and making public comments about them are very different things. LaVine’s choice to do the latter will likely put him on very thin ice with the Bulls front office. He didn’t pull any punches by stating his belief that “Sacramento wants me more than Chicago.”
"I'm disappointed that I had to get an offer sheet from another team. But Sacramento stepped up and made a strong impression. It appears that Sacramento wants me more than Chicago," @ZachLaVine to @espn @theundefeated https://t.co/T0zSUmCpEh
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 7, 2018
Don’t expect this matter to be resolved until the Bulls take their allotted 48 hours to make a decision. The team once considered LaVine to be the crown jewel of their return from the Jimmy Butler trade, but he hasn’t developed as they’d hoped. Certainly, injuries have played a big part in that, but it’s impossible to know just how far along he might be now if his knee hadn’t cost him so much valuable playing time.
Part of the Bulls’ evaluation will depend on how their relationship is with LaVine. It’s distinctly possible that he’s made up his mind that he wants to make the move to Sacramento. If that’s the case, Chicago officials may choose to let him go even if they believe he’s worth the money. Having an unhappy player in the locker room could derail the Bulls’ youth movement before it truly has a chance to take root.
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In the end, LaVine may be in the process of talking his way out of Chicago. Time will tell whether or not that proves to be a blessing in disguise for the Bulls.