On June 6th, Zach LaVine signed a four-year, $78 million offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings.  From that moment on, the Bulls had a 48-hour window to match the offer their restricted free agent signed or let the centerpiece of the Jimmy Butler trade walk and play for the Kings next season.  Reports indicated right away the Bulls intended to match the offer but today it was made official.

This deal is more money than I would have liked to see Bulls spend on LaVine after watching the small sample size of only 24 games last year.  LaVine did not look great, shooting 38.3% from the field and 34.1% from beyond the arc, but he was coming off of a serious knee injury and I doubt 24 games were enough to get LaVine fully healthy and conditioned.  There’s a high probability that those numbers will not stay as low as they currently are since for his career LaVine’s FG% is 43.7 and 3PT% is 37.3.

At only 23, so much of LaVine’s game is dictated by his athleticism and Chicago has seen an ACL tear steal some of that athletic ability from a star before.  The high price tag of this contract absolutely is due to what LaVine potentially can be instead of what he has been. All in all, if he reaches that potential, this was a good deal and If not, overpaying on potential can cripple an organization, just take a look at Andrew Wiggins and the Timberwolves.