The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly preparing a lucrative max contract offer for reigning Most Improved Player of the Year and All-Star guard Jimmy Butler, who will become a restricted free-agent this offseason.
According to Shams Charania of Real GM, the Lakers are serious in their pursuit of Butler this offseason to the extent that they are willing to offer a max contract deal that could worth at least $20 million per year.
With almost the entire roster hitting the market this offseason, the Lakers will have the cap space to make a big splash in the free-agency market, and Butler is expected to be high on their target list.
Charania surmised that the Lakers' aggressive plan to land Butler might have stemmed from the belief of most NBA executives about the Bulls' reluctance to commit a big contract with a player other than Derrick Rose.
"Outside of Chicago, teams are already preparing possible maximum-salary offer sheets for Butler in free agency, including the Los Angeles Lakers as one of several expected suitors, league sources told RealGM," Charania stated.
Aside from the Lakers, the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks are anticipated to make serious run at Butler, who made it in his first All-Star game after averaging 20.0 points and 5.8 rebounds.
"Even Butler's college area connection, the Milwaukee Bucks, will have cap space in July. Around the league, there's a question: How will Chicago handle the inevitable max out of a star player not named Rose?," via Real GM.
The Bulls, who are in the thick of a very competitive second-round series showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers, offered Butler a $10 million per year contract in the offseason, but the former Marquette star decided to turn down the deal in hope of signing a more lucrative deal, which NBA analysts considers a risky but rewarding move for him.