The Sacramento Kings will try to upgrade their backcourt by agreeing to an offer sheet with restricted free agent Zach LaVine, per Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania.
The Chicago Bulls will now have 48 hours to match the deal to keep him on the roster or let him leave.
"I'm disappointed that I had to get an offer sheet from another team. But Sacramento stepped up and made a strong impression," LaVine said, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. "It appears that Sacramento wants me more than Chicago,
LaVine was a key part of the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves last offseason, although he was coming off a torn ACL at the time. It took him until January to get back on the court, while knee problems also caused him to be shut down with about a month left in the season.
He played just 24 games all season with Chicago, averaging 16.7 points per game.
While the Bulls wanted him back, the team clearly wasn't going to force a deal without seeing the player's value across the league first.
"Well, the market dictates a lot and how things go," Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in April, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. "I think the market has tightened up a little bit the last couple of years since the spike. We obviously value Zach a lot, and we think he's a part of our future, but he has the opportunity to explore things."
He has now found his value and is one step toward joining a new team if the Bulls don't want to match.
Although the injury concern is understandable, LaVine is still only scratching the surface of his potential. The 23-year-old averaged 18.9 PPG in 2016-17 with Minnesota and is a 37.3 percent shooter from three-point range.
He also has outstanding athleticism, as evidenced by his two Slam Dunk Contest titles.
"I'm not going to stop working until I'm an elite player in this league," LaVine said at the end of the season, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
While the Bulls want to keep as much talent as possible, the Kings could also use a player of his ability heading into 2018-19 and beyond.
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