NBA Rumors: According to a recent report, Zach LaVine is expected to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls this offseason.
After a disappointing end to this past season, the Chicago Bulls are heading into the offseason with the hopes of taking a step forward as a franchise before the start of next season.
And a big part of that falls on the team’s ability to re-sign Zach LaVine as he is a free agent this summer. However, there’s some growing optimism on that front.
Despite the whispers and the possibility that he could leave Chicago, it seems like the expectation is that he’s going to re-sign with the team. At least that’s the recent reporting that Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer is running with.
And Fischer has had a great record as of late.
"[via Bleacher Report]Two-time All-Star Zach LaVine is expected to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls once the free-agency negotiation period opens June 30, sources told B/R."
If this report is indeed so, it’d be a huge sigh of relief for a Bulls team that is hoping they can re-sign LaVine after investing so much in the team last offseason. If LaVine returns, the Bulls will return a team that will have a shot to make a run in the Eastern Conference – something that they failed to do so this past season, mostly due to injuries late in the season.
LaVine is coming off a season in which he averaged 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 48 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range. He’s still only 27 years old and could very well still have the best basketball of his career still in front of him.
It’ll be interesting to see what a fully healthy Bulls team would look like, with an addition here and there during the offseason.
I’m not sure if Chicago will be a “contender” next season in the East, but there’s no reason to believe that this team can’t make some noise in the playoffs.