July 1st is quickly approaching, it’s time to brace ourselves for the annual NBA free agency frenzy. While most of the league will be focused on what happens with LeBron James, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and DeMarcus Cousins, the Bulls primary focus will be retaining Zach LaVine.
LaVine wants the max, the Bulls don’t feel he’s worth that much. If there’s a team out there that’s willing to pay Lavine what he wants, the Bulls might be forced to let him walk.
That’s where the Sacramento Kings come in.
One team consistently mentioned as strongly considering a run at Zach LaVine in restricted free agency: The Kings.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) June 28, 2018
Report: Sacramento Kings interested in Zach LaVine. https://t.co/kltlVv4OyP
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) June 28, 2018
Luckily for the Bulls, the Kings do not currently have the cap flexibility to offer LaVine more than $17M a year. If a 4-year, $68M deal is the best they can offer him, the Bulls would likely have no problem matching that offer sheet.
As Michael Walton of NBCSports Chicago points out, the Kings do have some attractive-ish assets in Buddy Hield and Willie Cauley-Stein that they could move to free up some money. But as it currently stands, the odds of LaVine being a King next season are not as high as him returning to Chicago.
