In 2022, he signed a five-year $215.16 million super cap salary contract with the Bulls, with four years and $178 million left, but now it has become a hot potato, the NBA's biggest garbage contract, which was put on the shelf by the team but no one cared about, and was temporarily sent to the Development League!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
Nearly one-third of the NBA season has been played, the situation in the East and West has gradually stabilized, and many dark horse teams have emerged in the league. Like the Timberwolves in the West, who returned to the top of the West after 16 years, the Thunder also ranked second in the West with the excellent play of the young Alexander, these two teams can be said to be the two biggest dark horses in the league this season, and the Magic team in the East, also with the defensive efficiency of the top five in the league, once entered the top two in the East, and now ranks fourth in the East with a record of 19 wins and 13 losses. Obviously, the rise of the dark horse team must be inseparable from the performance of the players, and the Timberwolves rely on the leadership of the new star Edwards, coupled with the assistance of the twin towers, and the improvement of the record is a natural thing.
The rise of new stars is naturally indispensable for big contracts. In last summer's offseason, three new generation stars, including Edwards, were awarded five-year, $260 million super-cap contracts, the other two being Haliburton of the Pacers and Ball of the Hornets. Obviously, in this era of big contracts, as long as a player performs a little well, the team will not hesitate to offer a big contract. However, it is inevitable that there will be some large contracts at a premium.
The Hornets' Ball is one example. He suffered an injury shortly after signing his big contract and was sidelined indefinitely. Of course, there are also some stars who will feel a premium before offering a contract, but they still have to give, such as Zion of the Pelicans and Jaylen Brown, the second-in-command of the Celtics, who directly won a five-year contract of $304 million with a super-cap salary, setting a record for the largest contract in NBA history.
In addition, there are some stars who are in an awkward position, they can be described as tasteless and discarded for the team, just like LaVine of the Bulls, who signed a five-year, $215.16 million maximum salary contract with the Bulls in 2022, and has four years and $178 million left in this season. Now that the Bulls are planning to rebuild, LaVine has become a hot potato, and no one cares about it.
In 2021, the Chicago Bulls are determined to make a big come. They made a sign-and-trade deal with the Spurs, successfully acquired star player DeRozan, and formed a strong two-core roster with LaVine. In order to enhance the overall strength of the team, the Bulls also successively recruited powerful players such as Ball and Vucevic, and at the same time introduced defensive titan Caruso. The Bulls have formed a league's super-luxury roster and plan to show their talents.
However, reality slapped the bull in the mouth. Despite having such a luxurious roster, the Bulls didn't perform as well as they could have been. So far this season, the Bulls' best result was only the first round of the playoffs, and in the 21-22 season, they were ruthlessly eliminated by the Bucks with a score of 4-1. By the 22-23 season, the Bulls hadn't even touched the threshold of the playoffs. Even more disappointing is the fact that the Bulls' winning percentage this season has been miserable. In just two seasons, the Bulls have fallen from the expectations of the luxury division. Disappointed, the management had to re-examine the future of the team and start thinking about the road to rebuild.
At the end of the day, the Bulls seem to have a strong lineup with many stars, but it's a bit flashy. Despite his impressive stats, LaVine's offensive efficiency is very low, and his defense is terrible. The combination with DeRozan is also not tacit, and both men like to play alone and need a lot of ball-handling offense. Vucevic is not the kind of traditional blue-collar center who also needs to have the ball in hand. As a result, the team's compatibility is almost zero, and various problems arise one after another.
LaVine, in particular, can be described as a high salary and low energy. This season, LaVine averaged only 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, of which points, rebounds and assists have dropped significantly from last season, and his shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage have also dropped by 4 percentage points from last season. Even more telling is that the Bulls are on a four-game winning streak for the first time since February, and that's in LaVine's absence.
According to the data released by the American media, when LaVine played this season, the Bulls' winning rate was only 27.8%, and when LaVine was absent, the Bulls' winning rate was as high as 63.6%. This set of data is enough to show how negative LaVine's impact on the Bulls is.
And for the past few weeks, LaVine has been sidelined with inflammation in his right foot. According to the official news of the Bulls, in order to better restore LaVine's health, he has been sent to the Windy City Bulls of the Development League to resume training with the team, and the specific return date is not yet known.
At the same time, the Bulls are also actively exploring other options. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Bulls are expected to continue to pursue teams interested in a LaVine trade. Previously, it was reported that both the Lakers and the 76ers were potential suitors for LaVine, but both the Lakers and 76ers management later publicly clarified that there was no such thing. Obviously, the Bulls will need a lot of patience if they want to send LaVine away!