Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls agree to five-year max

Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls agree to five-year max

Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls have agreed to a five-year, $215.2 million max deal, Klutch CEO Rich Paul told The Athletic’s Shams Charania Friday. The final year of the contract will be a player option.

LaVine was an unrestricted free agent this offseason, though Chicago owned his bird rights after spending five seasons with the team — making it feasible to ink this massive extension.

He averaged 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists on 47.6 percent shooting, 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 85.3 percent from the free-throw line in 67 games last year, also making the All-Star team for the second time of his career. Since he’s joined Chicago, he’s posted a 24.4 point-4.7 rebound-4.4 assist per game stat line on 46.8/38.9/83.3 shooting.

According to CBS Sports, LaVine’s $215 million extension makes him the first ever Bull player to sign a deal worth more than $100 million.

According to Spotrac, LaVine’s 2022-23 cap hit will be at approximately $37.1 million and finish at about $49.0 million with the maximum eight percent raises from year-to-year.

The 27-year-old’s only playoff appearance of his career came this last season, though it was a first-round sweep against the Milwaukee Bucks. He tallied 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists on 42.9 percent shooting, 37.5 percent fromd istance and 93.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Chicago got off to a red-hot 27-11 start last season before COVID-19 and injuries struck their team, and they couldn’t find a sustainable groove thereafter. Their only other free agent transaction was Andre Drummond (two-years, $6.6 million) to fill the backup center void left by Tristan Thompson. Provided they’re healthy, the Bulls should be on track for another adequate season.

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