The Chicago Bulls, who have won eight straight, are finally on top of the Top spot in the East, and the team has finally shown its first sense of stability in more than five years, and the team is constantly winning. The signing of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso proved to have been a great help in stabilizing the team and getting the team back on the road to victory, but most importantly their arrival strengthened the Bulls' belief that Zach Lavin continues to be the cornerstone of the team.
The Bulls decided to implement the team options of Patrick Williams and Kobe White in September last year, and recently dropped forward Iris Johnson, and now the Bulls have as many as 10 players without guaranteed contracts next season. While it's unclear if the Bulls will act before the upcoming trade deadline, as things stand, some of those players whose contracts expire are worthy of the Bulls' offer to extend their contracts. I feel that three of the players in particular have made a deep impression and deserve further attention from the Bulls management, and if the Bulls want to continue to win in the coming years, they should consider retaining these three players.
1 Derek Jones Jr
Jones was sent to the Bulls in a three-way deal involving Laurie Markkanen and Larry Nance, when Jones was seen as the worst player involved in the deal, only to match the salary, and even the tightly protected Trail Blazers draft pick was seen as a more valuable asset, and the Bulls' main purpose in this deal was to get rid of Markkanen.
But Jones became the biggest surprise in the deal, and his super bouncing ability to catch Ball's empty pick-ups and baskets has become the main means of the Bulls' attack. With Jones averaging only 17 minutes per game, his personal stats aren't particularly impressive, but Jones Jr. is currently averaging career-highs in both points and rebounds per game. Similar to another rotational player, Javont Green, he is actively involved on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, which is exactly in line with the pattern of a high-energy player, which helps the Bulls to form a good chemistry between the players.
Jones Jr. is versatile and can play high-quality defense against eastern superstar-level strikers like Kevin Durant, while also showing potential to act as a center in the small-ball lineup. Jones Jr. is currently playing his career-high plus-minus of +1.2, further suggesting that he has had a positive impact on the team in his limited playing time.
While it feels like a long time has passed since Jones won the dunk title, Jones Jr. is still only 24 years old, but this season is his sixth season in the league, and he is now experienced enough to help the Bulls become more competitive, while also being young enough to continue to grow with the Bulls' core players.
Expected contract renewal: $24 million for 3 years
2 Ayo-Dosem
In the 2021 draft, Dosem was selected by the Bulls with the 38th overall pick in the second round, although the starting point was not very high, but from the beginning Dosem felt that he had a chance to play far more than expected, and it did not take long for him to do so, after only a few official games, some fans began to call for Dosem to replace Kobe White in the 2019 No. 7 coach Kobe White in the guard rotation.
While it wasn't fair for White to judge him as inferior to Dosem on just a few games, it wasn't unfounded, and Dosem played very well on the defensive end. As a second-round pick, Dosem did not opt for a four-year regular second-round contract with the Bulls, but instead signed a two-year short-term contract with the Bulls, which means that Dosem may become a free agent as early as the summer of 2023, and although his contract has not expired at this time, the Bulls should still do what they can to prevent these events.
According to the current market situation in the NBA, the market value of Doxem should be close to Marcus Smart, the Boston Celtics previously retained Smart with a four-year, $77 million contract extension, and Smart's role and role in the Celtics is very similar to the Bulls' expectations of Dosem.
With the Bulls already spending a fortune to build a strong line of defenders consisting of LaVine, Ball, Caruso and White, they should follow the example of the Oklahoma Thunder to lock in their defensive guard Lugantz Dolt as quickly as possible and renew Dosem as soon as possible. But Dosem is already famous, and the Bulls are unlikely to be able to send a basic salary like the Thunder signed Dort, but if they can renew their contracts as soon as possible, Xiaobian believes they can still sign him at a fairly cheap price.
Expected contract renewal: $15 million for 3 years
3 Zach Lavin
LaVine has thoroughly proven himself to be a superstar player this season and deserves a super-salary contract extension from the Bulls. After renewing lavine's contract for 4 years in 2018 with a four-year, $78 million contract, the Bulls got a huge return from LaVine, giving the team time to rebuild.
During his contract, LaVine averaged 25.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while maintaining extreme efficiency, shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range, so when LaVine becomes a free agent this summer, he will surely be a free-agent and will definitely get the first salary contract of his career, the only question remains to be seen whether this top salary contract will be sent by the Bulls.
After the Bulls got Nikola Vucevic at last year's trade deadline, LaVine publicly stated: "I want to stay in Chicago." I didn't have any thoughts of leaving. When that moment comes, obviously I'm going to do everything I can to stay here and join players like Vucevic that will make us more attractive in the free agent market and attract more good players, which is a bonus for the people who are in it. ”
Now Raven's mood to stay in the team should be more urgent, and after getting DeRozan, Bauer and Caruso successively, the Bulls have clearly done everything they can to satisfy Lavine's desire to have a strong team. If LaVine continues his great performances, he can even get a place in the All-Of-The-Year team, and if he is successfully selected for the All-Team, then he will qualify for a super top salary, from the projected 5-year $207 million top salary extension contract to a five-year $ 242 million contract extension.
Expected contract renewal: $242 million over 5 years (super maximum salary)