A report last month indicated that the Bulls and Lakers had “initial conversations” about Lonzo Ball prior to the 2019 trade deadline, and it sounds as if Chicago still has some interest in Ball. According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, Ball’s pass-first mentality, defensive ability, and positional size intrigue the Bulls, who will be on the lookout for a point guard this offseason.
Johnson’s latest article for The Tribune includes several other Bulls-related rumors and notes, so let’s round up the highlights…
- Multiple league executives believe that top point guard prospects Darius Garland and Coby White received draft promises from teams that pick before the Bulls, says Johnson. If either Garland or White is available when Chicago is on the clock at No. 7, that player would be a good bet to end up in a Bulls uniform, Johnson adds.
- League executives tell Johnson that Kris Dunn‘s trade value is “low to nonexistent,” so if the Bulls attempt to upgrade the point guard spot on the trade market, the former No. 5 pick is unlikely to be a major outgoing asset.
- There’s internal optimism within the organization that the NBA will allow the Bulls to remove Omer Asik‘s cap charge from their books for medical reasons, Johnson writes. That would create an extra $3MM in cap space for the summer.
- The Bulls may be more interested in restricted free agent point guards than many of the unrestricted options expected to be available. Johnson points to Terry Rozier and Malcolm Brogdon as two potential targets for the club.
- The Bulls would also like to add a veteran big man in free agency, but the point guard position is the team’s top priority.
Lonzo isn’t worth the 7th pick, but I’m not quite sure what the Bulls could offer that the Lakers would want. Maybe a future pick, but those should still be valuable due to the Bulls expected timeline for their rebuild unless it’s like 3 years down the road.
Not saying that Lonzo would even make the Bulls that much better, but even if he would, I’m not sure the Bulls have much of value in terms of assets that they are willing to part with.
He’s not worth the 7th pick, but he could be worth Dunn and a future 1st. Perhaps one of those 1sts that starts out lotto protected, then goes to top 12, then to top 10, then to two seconds.
Dunn might not have much trade value, but he still has upside. I’m not saying he will blossom on the Lakers or any other team, but he has enough raw talent that he just might a new system to be successful.
He’s worth way more than the 7th pick?!? This draft is really weak outside the 1st maybe second pick.. 7th pick might give you a role player at best. Ball is still young and when he’s been healthy he’s had a big impact, look at his plus minus
This draft has more than 2 players with star potential.
The draft is weak, but not THAT weak. There is still some potential at 7. Lonzo is two years into a thus far unspectacular career. Plus he comes with his usual baggage as well.
Look at his plus/minus? LMAO!!!
Lonzo is still a kid man. What he’s doing at his age shows a ton of promise. I’d put a years salary on lonzo having a better career then what you could get in this years draft at 7. He came close to averaging a triple double as a teenager.
Totally agree with you frankgrimes! In my opinion in his rookie year Zo was way better than Tatum, just as good as Mitchell for the 2nd best rookie… I mean 10/7/7 is very impressive for a rookie, so I definitely don’t swap him for a #7 or Dunn, at the very least have to be a top 3. Can’t see why people don’t like Zo, unless it is for his dad, but that would show such levels of ignorance that I can’t believe anyone would dislike a kid for his father.
Frankgrimes, I mean, Lamar, c’mon man. This draft is pretty solid.
Damn autocorrect, LaVar*
Ok , Lonzo Ball better than Tatum, got it.
Lonzo is always injured
You’d put a year’s salary on Lonzo having a better career than any player available after pick #6 in this draft. I’d take that bet in a heartbeat.
And when did he ever come close to averaging a triple double as a teenager? He averaged 10/7/7 at age 20 his rookie year, which is neither close to a triple double nor a teenager. He didn’t even come close to averaging a triple double in college.
Plus, never forget that the two most important abilities are durability and availability and Lonzo seems to be in short supply of both.
He wasn’t anywhere near averaging a triple double.
Only 12 guys in the history of the league have put up the numbers ball has in his first two years. He’s 22 nash was still in college at 22.(and still took a few year to develop when he got to the league) you can’t give up on young players and he’s going to be better than anyone the lakers could get at 7. That Dunn 7th pick deal is a joke!!
Plus 10 points is weak! Like a triple double when you can barely adverage double degit scoring isn’t much.
If he stays healthy and with Lakers signing 2 max deals this summer ball will have huge numbers .
Notice how the Bulls are never interested in elite players but rather only middling talent.
Rozier is pretty good. Right now the team is horrible so literally anyone is an upgrade.
Rozier isn’t pretty good. He shoots less than 40% from the floor. Perfect example of an underrated player suddenly becoming overrated. Lack of minutes doesn’t explain away his career shooting % from the floor of 40%. He’s a good 3pt shooter but definitely a volume scorer.
IMO: Rozier takes bad shots because he’s pressing to make up for not being a starter. Thus the low %.
If he started, he would be more chill and selective.
It is still an issue that he does this, but his shooting % would rise and be less of an issue as a starter.
Would he still take bad shots to say, keep up with LaVine in ppg? That’s the question but I think not.
OR the more time he gets the more teams scheme to stop him and his weaknesses become more exposed. Backup point guards are like backup QBs that perform well in small playing time. You think they would be amazing if they were starters but seldom does it end up that way.
Yes, when backup QBs go FA and start for their new team, usually they turn out injury-prone and/or uneven.
And I can see that for Rozier. Someone’s going to give him a shot though.
He looked great in last playoffs, to the point that if he hadn’t stepped up, I doubt C’s would have made it to the seventh game of the ECF
I haven’t watched too many Bulls games of late but Dunn is a PG coming off of a 11/6/4 season and a slash of 43/35/80. That’s not amazing but it’s not bad. He’s only owed 1/$5.3 mil in 19-20. I can’t imagine there aren’t teams that would take him for a reasonable price, even if just as a stop gap.
Orlando traded for a Bulls PG in Jerian Grant and got burned. Cleveland picked up a Bulls PG in Cameron Payne and he did really well in 9 games with an on/off of +9 and a 49/36/69 and really slick passing and creating for others. Look how hard the teams remaining in the playoffs work at creating shots for teammates!! But for whatever reason, Payne doesn’t seem to be in the Cavs’ plans, and everything revolves around Sexton, who does not have that particular talent naturally. Well he’s trying at least.
I wasn’t thinking of him in terms of the Cavs or Knicks. Just didn’t agree with the writer saying his value is “low to non-existent”.
Sexton needs work as a creative PG. His true calling might be as a SG. I wouldn’t mind if they looked at Garland or White with the #5. Maybe they even trade back if those guys are still on the board and can still get them and pick up assets.
I think Payne is plagued by his injury history.
I like Dunn, going back to college, but I’d view him at this point as a 1 year backup (not a stop gap). A 2nd round pick in this draft from a win now team, because he can defend at a high level, although not a physical player. Problems: He’s going into the last year of his RSC, will turn 26 next season (his prospect days are over), has played less than 100 games the past 2 season (injury prone in college too) and still hasn’t developed a 3 pt shot (the % is ok over a short sample size for one season).
It’s pretty clear that Ball was tentatively shopped while they were “negotiating” the AD “deal” and I assume in connection with it. I read Orlando and Phoenix as well. Nobody offered any thing close to the 7th pick. Then again the Lakers didn’t bite, and may have only been shopping to give the Pels an alternative to Ball. But it’s still hard to see the Bulls trading the 7th pick for him. Although this could be the draft for it.
Between the top 3 in the draft and the Bulls are the Lakers, Cavs and Suns. A promise from the Lakers is iffy because they might trade it. The Suns could use either Garland or White, but the Cavs… IDK… Garland is too small to pair with Sexton, and White is too similar, like a cross between him and Clarkson. But that’s what it looks like if this info is accurate, White to the Cavs.
I did not see good passing from White but maybe he has it in him and just operated under different encouragement from the coach. The espn scouting report indicated this.
A non-ball-dominant passing PG that can cover 2Gs would be ideal (hence I prefer Culver) but can White do this? Well he comes close anyway.
Why would anyone want Ball and his dad Big Mouth Brand?
I think LaVar Balls mouth has quieted a bit of late. Lonzo seems to be making his ow decisions now. Or at least is listening to other voices in the room. I could see Ball flourishing in NO with a lot of athletic guys on his team. Can you imagine the fast breaks with Ball in control with options like Zion, Holiday, Randle and possibly Reddish/Hunter/Kulver?
what if you need someone 70% of the season on limited limits with major baggage? the crooked free throw and shot form could be made into a espn 30/30
The GARPAX duo would be the perfect idgits to trade the lemmings number 7 pick for ball. Their whole regime has been a rebuild. New team slogan WIN MUCH?
Bulls STILL don’t know if Dunn is their point guard for the future. Maybe by the time he’s 29 they’ll have found out
The Tribune link mentions the possibility of the Bulls being a facilitator of a Lakers-Pels AD trade, with their interest in Lonzo Ball and perhaps disinterest between Ball and the Pels. They could absorb Solomon Hill’s contract also instead of giving up something valuable like the #7 pick.