How important is getting into that postseason environment with this group and making a deep run with these guys before your upcoming contract negotiations? Zach LaVine: 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. 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.
Source: Jake Fischer @ Bleacher Report
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Jake Fischer @JakeLFischer
Zach LaVine has so far been coy during interviews about his upcoming free agency, but all signs are pointing to a lucrative contract extension that could reach as high as $245 million. My sit down with the Bulls’ centerpiece, @BR_NBA: bleacherreport.com/articles/29538… – 10:02 AM
Zach LaVine has so far been coy during interviews about his upcoming free agency, but all signs are pointing to a lucrative contract extension that could reach as high as $245 million. My sit down with the Bulls’ centerpiece, @BR_NBA: bleacherreport.com/articles/29538… – 10:02 AM
Darnell Mayberry @DarnellMayberry
Final: Bulls 112, Hawks 108
DeMar DeRozan: 37/6/3
Zach LaVine: 20/5/3
Nikola Vučević: 12/10/3
Ayo Dosunmu: 12/6/3
Tristan Thompson: 11/6/1
The Bulls are now 39-21. – 10:34 PM
Final: Bulls 112, Hawks 108
DeMar DeRozan: 37/6/3
Zach LaVine: 20/5/3
Nikola Vučević: 12/10/3
Ayo Dosunmu: 12/6/3
Tristan Thompson: 11/6/1
The Bulls are now 39-21. – 10:34 PM
Rob Schaefer @rob_schaef
Final: Bulls 112, Hawks 108
DeRozan: 37 pts (12 in the 4th)
LaVine: 20 pts
Ayo: 12 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk
Tristan Thompson: 11 pts, 6 reb in Bulls debut
Bulls win 6th straight to move to 39-21, and DeRozan’s magical season continues – 10:34 PM
Final: Bulls 112, Hawks 108
DeRozan: 37 pts (12 in the 4th)
LaVine: 20 pts
Ayo: 12 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk
Tristan Thompson: 11 pts, 6 reb in Bulls debut
Bulls win 6th straight to move to 39-21, and DeRozan’s magical season continues – 10:34 PM
J. Michael Falgoust @ThisIsJMichael
Smart basketball down the stretch by Atl. Sending second defender to DeMar and LaVine off the ballscreen. Rely on recovery and forcing the ball inside the arc off catch #HawksBulls – 10:24 PM
Smart basketball down the stretch by Atl. Sending second defender to DeMar and LaVine off the ballscreen. Rely on recovery and forcing the ball inside the arc off catch #HawksBulls – 10:24 PM
Chuck Swirsky @ctsbulls
Late whistle after late whistle..Sheesh….tied at 82..we go to the 4th. DeRozan with 25. Zach with 20–goes over 9-thousand career points. Congrats @Zach LaVine – 9:51 PM
Late whistle after late whistle..Sheesh….tied at 82..we go to the 4th. DeRozan with 25. Zach with 20–goes over 9-thousand career points. Congrats @Zach LaVine – 9:51 PM
Stephen Noh @StephNoh
Nice heads-up defensive play by Zach LaVine (yeah you read that right). Recognized the late-clock situation and came over with the decisive double-team. pic.twitter.com/Nsx0w9Yb8D – 9:33 PM
Nice heads-up defensive play by Zach LaVine (yeah you read that right). Recognized the late-clock situation and came over with the decisive double-team. pic.twitter.com/Nsx0w9Yb8D – 9:33 PM
Rob Schaefer @rob_schaef
Billy Donovan says that there are no playing-time restrictions on Zach LaVine, who returns tonight vs. Hawks after missing last 3 games before All-Star break with knee soreness. But they’re monitoring him closely moving forward – 6:30 PM
Billy Donovan says that there are no playing-time restrictions on Zach LaVine, who returns tonight vs. Hawks after missing last 3 games before All-Star break with knee soreness. But they’re monitoring him closely moving forward – 6:30 PM
Chuck Swirsky @ctsbulls
No minute restrictions for Zach LaVine according to Head Coach Billy Donovan – 6:29 PM
No minute restrictions for Zach LaVine according to Head Coach Billy Donovan – 6:29 PM
Zach LaVine @ZachLaVine
I’m back from NBA All-Star with 100 DEW ZONE basketballs for you. Enter for a chance to win one— tweet @MountainDew why you love basketball using #DEWZoneSweepstakes. 8 even luckier fans will get an exclusive ball signed by me #ad Rules: https://t.co/PU389mGV6F pic.twitter.com/PYgYFpeb3u – 9:42 AM
I’m back from NBA All-Star with 100 DEW ZONE basketballs for you. Enter for a chance to win one— tweet @MountainDew why you love basketball using #DEWZoneSweepstakes. 8 even luckier fans will get an exclusive ball signed by me #ad Rules: https://t.co/PU389mGV6F pic.twitter.com/PYgYFpeb3u – 9:42 AM
Chuck Swirsky @ctsbulls
Since we last conversed..The Bulls are tied for first in the EC with Miami with a record of 38-21. 23 games left. The Bulls have won 5 straight. The Bulls signed veteran @Tristan Thompson who will definitely help. Zach LaVine is back. DeMar DeRozan has 7 straight games of 35+. – 7:26 AM
Since we last conversed..The Bulls are tied for first in the EC with Miami with a record of 38-21. 23 games left. The Bulls have won 5 straight. The Bulls signed veteran @Tristan Thompson who will definitely help. Zach LaVine is back. DeMar DeRozan has 7 straight games of 35+. – 7:26 AM
Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
The dunks conversation on half baked ideas came close but @kevinwildes missed the right Olympic event.
It’s not figure skating or floor routine.
Long dunk. High dunk.
Could Giannis dunk on a 13 foot rim? Could LaVine dunk from the circle?
It’s beauty is in the simplicity. – 9:48 PM
The dunks conversation on half baked ideas came close but @kevinwildes missed the right Olympic event.
It’s not figure skating or floor routine.
Long dunk. High dunk.
Could Giannis dunk on a 13 foot rim? Could LaVine dunk from the circle?
It’s beauty is in the simplicity. – 9:48 PM
More on this storyline
The Bulls have quickly elevated to the top of the East, with shrewd trades and signings — and keeping LaVine as a rare holdover. This regime keeps its strategy a mystery, but Zach LaVine is making a case for a max contract — which he won’t definitively say but won’t deny, either. “I think we all get what we deserve at the level we play at, for our team and around the league. I think I stack up with everybody at that level,” he said. “We’ll let the chips fall. Is the [max] the goal? I don’t know if it’s the goal, but I should be getting what I deserve. I’ll let them tell me what that is and we’ll go from there.” -via Yahoo! Sports / February 19, 2022
He’ll be a free agent in July — an unrestricted free agent. A big playoff run could erase any remaining doubts, if there are any. “Free agency is gonna be a big milestone for me,” LaVine told Yahoo Sports. “It’s my first time going into it really being [an] unrestricted free agent. I dealt with it being restricted before so it’s a whole new experience. I’m excited for the season with the Bulls. But you know, moving forward, it’s gonna be a whole new experience for me.” -via Yahoo! Sports / February 19, 2022
That restricted free agency experience sticks with him. He’s not on the Michael Jordan scale of petty or the Scottie Pippen scale of delusion, but he quietly craves the validation. LaVine is eligible for a five-year deal around $200 million this summer if he re-signs with the Bulls — and higher if he makes an All-NBA team. He can get a four-year deal around $160 million if he outright signs with another team. “I remember everything now,” LaVine said, smiling. “I know it’s a different front office, a different time. But I’m gonna take it day by day and let my agent handle it. But I remember everything. It’s something — I always have a chip on my shoulder for multiple reasons.” -via Yahoo! Sports / February 19, 2022