The immediate shock and awe emanating from the NBA twitter world after Zach LaVine signed his $78 million offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings was only met by the collective head-shaking when the Chicago Bulls quickly matched it.
There’s the Kings being the Kings, having a roster with young, developing wings going after a restricted free agent with an offer that wasn’t overwhelming.
There’s the Bulls, doing things only the Bulls would do, matching an offer in a depressed market when they held all the leverage.
Right?
Not exactly.
While the Bulls aren’t at a bad place with their rebuild, with a better than average trove of young players and a decent amount of cap space for the future, anything the Bulls do will bring about a healthy amount of skepticism.