With Lonzo Ball undergoing another procedure on his knee and preparing to be sidelined for the start of the 2022/23 season, the Bulls will have to come up with a plan for how to replace his production at point guard, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, who examines the top candidates to take Ball’s spot in the starting lineup.
As Mayberry outlines, Alex Caruso probably makes the most sense as Ball’s short-term replacement, given his experience, leadership, and defensive abilities. While Caruso isn’t a big-time offensive player, that wouldn’t be a problem if he’s playing alongside Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic.
Still, like Ball, Caruso has an injury history and shouldn’t be leaned on too heavily, since having both players on the shelf would seriously limit the effectiveness of Chicago’s backcourt, Mayberry writes. Ayo Dosunmu, Goran Dragic, and Coby White are the other candidates to take Ball’s place in the starting five.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- In another story for The Athletic, Mayberry poses 10 questions that will shape the Bulls’ season, including whether LaVine can realistically take his game to another level after signing a five-year, maximum-salary contract.
- While Dragic and Andre Drummond were solid veteran signings, it remains to be seen whether they’ll help specifically address the Bulls’ shooting and rim protection, two needs management publicly acknowledged entering the offseason, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
- The honeymoon period is just about over for the Bulls’ front office led by Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley as they enter their third season in Chicago, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Cowley, Karnisovas has proven he’s an “organizational-changer,” but the Bulls will have to continue moving toward title contention rather than peaking as a middle-of-the-pack playoff team.
- The Bulls have a new jersey sponsor, according to Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago, who writes that a Motorola Mobility patch will replace the Zenni Optical logo on the team’s jerseys starting this season.
Yes
How much is Sun-Times MG paying you guys to keep aggregating their crap coverage?
I’m definitely going to start Alex Caruso but I will keep his minutes around 25 or 26 minutes a game because of his long injury history. Goran Dragic is a good backup Point Guard at this stage of his career. I’ll groom Ayo to be the backup Shooting Guard behind Zach LaVine. I’ll be working on trading Coby White. Getting a Power Forward for him will be a great move.
the “honeymoon” can be over but im still very high on our front office
The FO is just fine I agree. Oh it was Cowley. Never mind.
I’d say Coby White is the best player of the three, be a mistake to trade him, as he is the player to step in at the two if the Bulls decide to trade LaVine.
I’d start Ayo at point guard, he played well with DeRozan and is efficient, plays good defense.
Wow. Clueless much.
When they say the Bulls have a new Jersey sponsor do they mean that they have a new sponsor logo that goes on their jersey or did they get a sponsor from New Jersey?
Ayo,PWill,Lavine, DDR and Vujevic will start. Caruso and White next men up and Dragic will get minutes but not huge ones depending on matchups I would think. Terry will probably spend a lot of time in the G League or maybe he’ll be on the team til Ball gets back. Either way it’s no big deal. Drummond , Jones and Green will see lots of time also. Simonovic will see some time and Bradley is basically Cannon Fodder.
I think best case, we see Simonovic in the regular rotation by all-star break. Dude just needs to play regularly at this point.
He has bulked up so he might get some minutes – last year Donovan wouldn’t even give him garbage time.
Caruso is a good choice. Bulls have good depth at guard. So I think they will be fine. But Ball always has an issue with him. He should be a top 2way PG by now. And we are still talking about potential and upside with him. If he’s who he’s suppose to be by now. Bulls can contend. I like their team. And believe Zach is ready to make that leap.