It didn’t take the Chicago Bulls too long to come to a decision on the future of 23-year-old shooting guard Zach Lavine.
Mere hours after the Sacramento Kings signed the restricted free agent to a lucrative four-year offer sheet, the Bulls have reportedly decided to match the offer.
The Bulls have decided to match Sacramento's $78M offer sheet to Zach LaVine, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2018
Acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves last summer in the Jimmy Butler trade, it’s rather obvious that Chicago didn’t want to lose the young guard for nothing.
It’s still a rather big gamble for the downtrodden Bulls to take. LaVine played in all of 24 games for the Bulls last season after suffering a torn ACL with Minnesota during the 2016-17 campaign.
All said, he averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Nearly $20 million per season is certainly a risk.