Zach LaVine – Chicago Bulls

Unrestricted Free Agent – 2021-22 Salary: $19.5 million

The Bulls are having a terrific season and they are most definitely title contenders in the Eastern Conference. Their All-Star trio of DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and Zach LaVine has been extremely successful in their first season together, but LaVine is set to become an unrestricted free agent after not agreeing to a long-term extension with Chicago at the start of the 2021-22 season. 

After making the All-Star Game in back-to-back seasons, LaVine is eligible for a max contract worth upwards of $201.3 million from Chicago. If he was to sign with another team, Zach LaVine would only be able to receive $149.3 million, making this decision look very easy for LaVine and the Bulls. 

“For me, it’s not even about my contract. I’m a competitor. I want to go to the playoffs and play on the big stage,” Zach LaVine said in a recent interview with Bleacher Report. “Contract, everything, that all comes. But I look at it day by day. You can’t get to April in a day. You’re gonna have to play and compete each and every day to get there, and then once the playoffs come, we gotta go do our thing. You know I’m really excited. I’m really excited to be on that stage because I haven’t been there yet.”

A new contract with the Bulls has always been in the back of Zach LaVine’s mind, but it has not been made a priority by either him or his camp. 

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In time, he knows a new deal is coming his way and right now, he is just looking to be the best version of himself that way his team has a real chance of advancing far into the playoffs.

Technically speaking, Zach LaVine will be “available” for any team to sign once free agency begins, but many around the league are expecting the All-Star guard to sign a max-extension with the Bulls within the first few hours of free agency.