The Bulls are going to have a major decision to make come this offseason. Zach LaVine, the guy considered the centerpiece of the Jimmy Butler trade, will be due for a new contract. LaVine is only 23 years old, but there will always be health concerns surrounding him given his ACL injury. He has been a little up and down playing for the Bulls since coming back from the ACL injury even though he does not seem to have lost any of his speed and athleticism that he is known for. Nevertheless, uncertainties are surrounding LaVine and his potential that will need to be taken into account when the Bulls negotiate a new contract with him.

Is LaVine a #1 option?

To be clear, he can be a number one option, but my question is whether he has the potential to be the number one guy on a good team? The Bulls are a bad team right now. The Timberwolves were also a bad team, and LaVine was the third option. At this moment, LaVine looks like a guy that could score 20 points a game for a bottom team where he can take a bunch of shots and have the ball a lot. I think he has the potential to be much more than that but right now I don't think he could lead a playoff team.

It’s too early to know any of this, especially since LaVine is still working his way back into game shape and still probably isn’t 100% of what he was before the injury just yet. Most nights he doesn’t play more than 30 minutes. His not being fully back is especially apparent in his shooting efficiency. In his 24 games with the Bulls, LaVine is shooting 38% from the field and 34% from three. His shooting has been even worse of late, shooting 33.7% from the field and 21.6% from three over the last seven games.

I don’t expect a slump like this to last, especially with the whole team in a state of tanking, the entire team is not in a situation that is very conducive to smart and competitive basketball.

In the long run, I think LaVine might be better suited as a second option. We all know he can score, but I don’t think there has been definitive evidence thus far in his career that he is capable of being the guy night in and night out on a playoff-caliber team. There is a difference between being the go-to guy on a bad team versus a good team. A good team requires a scorer that you can rely on to get a bucket and make every shot count. LaVine has not been that guy the way he has played of late.

Is he worth the max?

The short answer is no, however, the long answer is more complicated. Most of the guys that have received max contracts in the last couple of seasons should not have gotten those contracts but teams either overestimated cap growth or were backed into a corner of having no other option than to resign a player for the max or risk letting that guy walk for nothing and having no other options to replace him (think Jrue Holiday with the Pelicans). There is no way the Bulls can let him walk after trading Butler. If the Bulls’ front office expected LaVine to be the guy when they traded for him, they have to make sure they resign him at all costs. However, this does not mean that he is worth that contract. He may improve enough in the coming years to make a max contract signing seem like an okay move, but at this moment, it is risky.

Not many teams will have the cap space to steal LaVine away from the Bulls, but the possibility still lingers. [side note: the Bulls still have the Bird Rights for LaVine as the rights are retained in a trade.]

If LaVine was given the max, it would likely be a contract similar to Andrew Wiggins’s new contract, which was a five-year/$146 million deal. Starting next season, Wiggins will be making over $25 million, and by the final year of the contract, he will be getting $33 million. I think it is fair to have concerns about that contract.

I still believe Lavine has more room to improve, but with his recent play and new contract looming, I have my questions. All Bulls fans can do is hope for the best.