Reports: Bulls to match Kings' offer sheet for Zach LaVine
After a quiet start to free agency, Zach LaVine has reportedly found a team interested in securing his services long-term.
Shams Charania of Yahoo sports reports that the 6-foot-5 guard has signed an offer sheet to a four-year contract with the Sacramento Kings:
RFA Zach LaVine has agreed to a four-year, $80M offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell Yahoo. The Chicago Bulls have 48 hours to match.
The Bulls, however, are expected to match the Kings’ offer. They could be tempted to do so after making LaVine part of the return for trading Jimmy Butler to Minnesota last summer (Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen were the other two players they received in the deal). According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Chicago will keep the 6-foot-5 guard in the Windy City:
The Bulls have decided to match Sacramento’s $78M offer sheet to Zach LaVine, league sources tell ESPN.
ESPN’s Marc Spears reported that the Bulls’ initial offer to the 23-year-old was “not nearly as strong as the Kings.”
“I’m disappointed that I had to get an offer sheet from another team,” LaVine was quoted to say. “But Sacramento stepped up and made a strong impression. It appears that Sacramento wants me more than Chicago.”
The 13th overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, LaVine returned from ACL surgery last season to average 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest while shooting 38.3 percent in 24 games.
