(670 The Score) Bulls star guard Zach LaVine set the tone Friday for his upcoming unrestricted free agency this summer when he was asked whether Chicago will enter the sweepstakes as the clubhouse leader.
LaVine didn't confirm that. He left it open-ended.
"I've been here for the last five years," LaVine said. "Obviously, you guys (in Chicago) have been a really, really soft spot in my heart. I have to do this as a business decision, as a man, to not just be viewed one way and be like, 'I'm automatically coming back' or 'I'm automatically leaving.' It's unrestricted free agency. I think for my family, for me, I have to go and look at this as a decision where I have to be open-eyed. Obviously, I have to make my list and talk to everybody in the summertime."
While LaVine's comments were notable, they shouldn't have been surprising given his stature in the free-agent market this offseason and whom he's represented by. Among players set to hit free agency, LaVine is in a league of his own at the top, though a few fellow stars could also hit the open market depending on their player option decisions. That means LaVine will have a bevy of interest from across the NBA.
After an agency switch last summer, LaVine is also now represented by Klutch Sports and its founder Rich Paul, who represents a long list of NBA stars. Paul is well-known for taking hard-line stances in negotiations with teams.
For LaVine, there wouldn't have been any value, financially speaking, of budging an inch in any comment Friday. So he didn't. When asked whether he'll take meetings with teams other than the Bulls, LaVine indicated he would.
"I plan to enjoy free agency, what it is as a whole," LaVine said. "I think you're going to have experience A through Z without making any fast decisions. I think that's something me and Rich get to go through and experience."
LaVine shared praise for the Bulls organization when queried directly along that line but otherwise turned the focus back his plan to evaluate all options and his desire to obtain a maximum contract.
"They understand what unrestricted free agency is," LaVine responded when asked what he has conveyed to Bulls management. "They've been in this game for a long time. I think they understand the relationship that me and them have. I'm going to be talking to them throughout the process. I think it's going to be fine."
Unless LaVine and Paul have a trick up their sleeve to force a sign-and-trade to a premier team, all the basketball and financial factors point to LaVine returning to the Bulls. The teams currently projected to have the max slot cap space (or close to it) to sign LaVine outright – the Pacers, Pistons, Spurs, Magic and Trail Blazers – aren't all that inspiring. Outside teams can offer LaVine a four-year deal worth around $160 million. The Bulls can offer LaVine a five-year deal worth up to $212 million.
LaVine also flourished this past season on a revamped Bulls team that made the playoffs for the first time in five years, meshing well with fellow star DeMar DeRozan on the offensive end and point guard Lonzo Ball when they were healthy at the same time. LaVine earned All-Star honors for the second time while averaging 24.4 points on 47.6% shooting.
LaVine played in 67 of the 82 regular-season games despite chronic left knee soreness in the latter half of the season that forced him into a constant maintenance plan on the health front and led to him to miss some games and be less efficient.
It's that knee ailment that looms over LaVine's free agency. He had that knee surgically repaired in 2017 after tearing his ACL, and he'll likely need another smaller procedure this offseason to address the current trouble. It's possible the Bulls could attempt to negotiate injury protection into a new deal with LaVine, such as making the final year non-guaranteed unless he meets a certain threshold of games played.
"I mean obviously I have to go into the offseason and figure out how to get back to 100%," LaVine said. "I was playing this year and not 100%. And figuring out what's the best plan of strategy to get my knee feeling back to normal. We were dealing with a lot this whole year. I talked to my doctors. I flew out there, you guys know this. I'll take the same type of approach once I get back to L.A. and go see my doctor. Communicate with him and figure out what's the best plan of action. Right now, I don't know. So we'll figure that out soon."
For the Bulls' part, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas indicated LaVine's knee issue wouldn't factor into the team's approach – "No, I don't think so, no," he said.
Karnisovas also continued with his praise of LaVine and expressed confidence in what's to come.
"The thing is that we have a relationship with him," Karnisovas said. "He knows exactly what to expect here. We have a really good relationship with him. The last two years have been the best two years of his career. So we'll see what happens."
What remains most likely to happen is LaVine returning to the Bulls, but Friday did tell us this much – while he's going to get a boatload of money, there could be an intense, perhaps protracted negotiation regarding the details on LaVine's next deal. And all the while, he could simultaneously be courted by other teams as the Bulls look to bring a cornerstone piece back.
"They're going to put a lot of things on the table," LaVine said. "That's not going to be for me to really go in and argue with them for. I think that's what Rich and AK get to discuss. Obviously, I've proven myself in this league and who I am as a player. That's what I have him on my behalf for, to represent me and have those talks for us. Obviously, this is a business and everybody is going to try to take advantage of everybody at a certain point and going into negotiations. I'm glad I get to view it from afar."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
