At a time where the next cycle of free agency is less than four weeks away, the Chicago Bulls are about to have to put their offseason plan to the test. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley will have to see how they can piece together the right supporting cast around the core trio of rookie forward Patrick Williams, star shooting guard Zach LaVine, and center Nikola Vucevic.
Most notably, the Bulls will be trying to find a supporting cast that is able to maximize what this core trio can do next season and beyond. The Bulls went all out to acquire the two-time All-Star big man Vucevic from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline back on March 25. And it looks like Karnisovas and the Bulls will do everything they can to get LaVine signed to a contract extension this summer.
If the Bulls aren’t able to sign LaVine to a contract extension, then he will be up for unrestricted free agency next summer. And that’s not a position that the Bulls want to be in heading into next offseason.
Chicago Bulls need to do all they can to appease Zach LaVine
The way the Bulls can tame that fear is by finding the right group of players that LaVine can buy in with over the long haul. That will entice LaVine more to sign a contract extension not only to stay with the Bulls for a longer period of time but one that could be more team-friendly.
In an enticing cycle of free agency, the Bulls do have the ability to go out and get some players that will keep LaVine interested in signing a longer-term contract extension. Here’s a look into three looming free agent targets that the Bulls could realistically land that could appease LaVine in contract negotiations.