The end to the season that many Chicago Bulls fans desired was not what was delivered by first-year head coach Billy Donovan down the stretch. Despite making numerous big moves at the trade deadline to try and upgrade the roster, the Bulls were once again left on the outside looking in for the postseason picture in the Eastern Conference.
Even the addition of the play-in tournament, which gave Donovan and the Bulls two extra seeds to try and work their way into the postseason, wasn’t enough to get them over the hump. The Bulls finished up the regular season with a record of 31-41, which was a nine-win improvement to their mark from the prior season.
Nonetheless, the Bulls did extend their postseason drought to four years. Since the Bulls shipped off their former star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler back in 2017 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team was not able to find solid footing in playoff contention in the East.
Chicago Bulls trying to push for the postseason in 2022 with an upgraded roster
There will be fewer excuses that the Bulls can come up with if they miss out on the postseason again in 2022. But for the time being, the focus for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley tends to lie on building up this core around the trio of star shooting guard Zach LaVine, center Nikola Vucevic, and rookie forward Patrick Williams.
The Bulls have a newfound core thanks to the roster reshaping of Karnisovas and Eversley thus far. But the job appears to be far from done for those two as the Bulls have a crucial offseason ahead as they try to continue to build up the supporting cast in the best fashion possible.
In terms of the focus on the Bulls players that are impending free agents, or could have some important contract negotiations this offseason, which could be looking at significant pay raises in the near future?
Chicago Bulls players set to get pay raises this summer: Zach LaVine
The lone Bulls player on this list that could be set to get a major pay raise this summer that is not in the midst of a contract year is the 26-year-old 6-foot-6 star shooting guard LaVine. As the biggest discussion that the Bulls have looming for the offseason in regard to potential contract extensions, LaVine might be looking at a big-time deal in the summer months.
It will be interesting to see how patient of an approach both LaVine and the Bulls front office takes in terms of contract negotiations this summer. There might be an approach that LaVine takes where he waits until next offseason to sign down longer-term with the Bulls. It’s clear that LaVine wants to make the playoffs, and soon.
And if the Bulls aren’t the team that can provide a solid destination for LaVine to start winning more in the postseason (or at all) in the near future, then he might look to take his talents elsewhere as soon as next year.
There are two ways this could go. The first is that LaVine is convinced enough that Karnisovas, Donovan, and the Bulls can provide a winning destination for him and he’s ready to sign a contract extension. Or he might wait it out and seek out a max contract extension next offseason.
With that in mind, if LaVine does seek out a contract extension this offseason, the Bulls will look to be set to hand him a bigger annual salary than he’s getting on his current deal. LaVine is currently getting paid $18 million annually, and his next salary figure will be much larger without a doubt.
Chicago Bulls players set to get pay raises this summer: Daniel Theis
The former Boston Celtics center Daniel Theis was one of the biggest acquisitions that Karnisovas and the Bulls had on deadline day back on March 25. The Bulls shipped off center Luke Kornet to the Celtics (along with some pieces that were originally from the Washington Wizards to get the deal done) for a return of Theis and defensive standout shooting guard Javonte Green.
With both Theis and Green impending free agents this summer, the front office has some decisions to make in terms of what will happen to this former Celtics duo. Theis showed a lot of value for the Bulls on both ends of the floor, and they do need some frontcourt depth returning heading into next season.
Meanwhile, Green could be coming back for next season if the front office finds enough value out a potential bargain contract they could get him on along with how much defensive prowess he brings to the table.
Theis can do a little bit of everything for Donovan and the Bulls, and his next contract might still not turn out to be that expensive for this front office. If they can keep his next contract figures in the eight digits annually, it should be worth it to re-sign Theis.
The current contract that Theis is one pays him $5 million annually. But it’s almost certain that his next contract will pay him more than that. If his next deal is another short-term one, then the annual salary figure will get him a nice pay raise this summer.
Chicago Bulls players set to get pay raises this summer: Lauri Markkanen
Although a lot of the discussion concerning fourth-year power forward and impending restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen is about why he won’t return for the Bulls next season, his next contract is almost certain to pay him more than his rookie deal.
The main reason why it is almost assured that Markkanen’s next deal is that he was getting roughly $7-$8 million in the latter years of his rookie contract, and he qualifies for starter-level money in restricted free agency this summer. Markkanen met, and then exceeded, the requirement from the NBA for the number of games needed to start to get starter-level money in restricted free agency.
And that next contract figure he gets out of restricted free agency this summer almost has to exceed the rookie scale deal.
With that in mind, if Markkanen has more than just a few suitors in free agency this summer then his bidding price will likely get driven up pretty high. And with a good number of suitors expected to come his way this summer, expect the next contract of Markkanen to at least eclipse the mark of $12-$14 million.
Markkanen put up some numbers this season that will attract some teams to through him a bag this offseason. For the first time in his career, he shot at least 48 percent from the field and better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. Given that he can distribute the ball, drive rather effectively, and rebound, along with his solid shooting stroke, it makes sense that a lot of teams would be willing to give Markkanen a sizable pay raise this summer.