The 2024/25 season has already been a huge success for Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who returned from a two-and-a-half-year absence and three knee surgeries and has been an effective role player through his first 28 appearances of the season.
However, Ball continues to push for a larger role within Chicago’s rotation, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times and Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune detail. While playing in back-to-backs remains off the table for the former No. 2 overall pick, team doctors agreed this week to increase Ball’s minutes restriction to 28, according to Poe.
“Every stage, they’ve wanted to see how he’s managed the minutes along the way,” head coach Billy Donovan said, per Cowley. “So it started at 16, then up to 22, then we got to 24. And as long as he feels good and he’s responding, that’s the biggest thing. How does he look the next day? And if he does have any swelling or soreness the next day, any difficulty, then they would start to monitor his minutes. But everything he’s done up to this moment with the restrictions that have been on him has been positive.”
Ball’s per-game averages of 7.0 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 21.1 minutes are all career lows, and his shooting percentages of 36.9% from the floor and 34.7% on three-pointers are below his career rates.
However, like he did in his first season with the organization back in 2021/22, Ball has made the Bulls a better team when he’s on the court. Chicago has outscored opponents by 4.6 points per 100 possessions during his 590 minutes of action and has been outscored by 6.1 points per 100 possessions during the 1,767 minutes he hasn’t played.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The Bulls have remained in contact with the Suns and Warriors with the trade deadline just five days away, a source tells Cowley, as the front office monitors where those two teams stand in the Jimmy Butler talks. Either one of those clubs could pivot to pursuing Zach LaVine and/or Nikola Vucevic if they don’t end up getting Butler, Cowley notes, though Golden State would be better positioned than Phoenix to make a run at one of those Bulls veterans. Chicago also remains interested in getting involved in a Butler deal as a facilitator, but that’s a longer shot, Cowley adds.
- Vucevic isn’t pushing for a trade and said he’s not thinking about leaving Chicago, given that he won’t be a free agent until 2026, but he acknowledged to Poe that – at age 34 – he wouldn’t mind being closer to title contention than he is this season with the 21-28 Bulls. “I’m getting closer to the end of my career,” Vucevic said. “I would like to be somewhere that’s in win-now mode.”
- Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis has been playing some of his best basketball of the season as of late. The first-year forward scored 12 points in each of his past two outings and was a plus-18 in 26 minutes of action in Friday’s win over Toronto as he continues to earn Donovan’s trust. “The biggest growth I’ve seen with him is quite honestly he plays a lot harder now,” Donovan said after Wednesday’s loss to Boston, according to Cowley. “Not that he didn’t play hard, but I don’t think he understood the level of intensity and energy he needs to raise himself up to.”
That’s funny. Seems like the more that Donovan plays Buzelis the better he gets. What a novel approach to coaching a basketball team. Who would of thought of that? He must be a genius.
Just like Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga!
Lol
If the Warriors can get both Vucevic and LaVine for Wiggins, GP2, Looney, Buddy and Anderson and a second rounder, they will turn the season around so fast as long as Kerr sticks to these rotations until the game is blown out:
Vooch, Dray, Kuminga, LaVine, Steph – use this one for most of the game
Post, Santos, Moody, Podz, Schroder
Post, TJD, Green, Moody, Steph – twin towers gotta happen soon
TJD, Dray, Kuminga, LaVine, Schroder
Dray, Moody, Podz, LaVine, Steph <- Kerrmaxxing
Kind of best case scenario in “develop while contending” thing they’re trying and kinda failing to do right now.
The Warriors would lose their best defender and 2nd best shooter (Wiggins), their best guard defender (GP2) and their best rebounder (Looney) for LaVine who plays -10 defense and Vucevic who doesnt fit the motion offense they run and is also a negative defender. Yep, definitely a recipe for success!
If only GSW is willing to trade Green and Bulls want him they could go for LaVine.
You think Wiggins is a better defender than Draymond? LMAO.
GP2 is washed defensively, and is low IQ. “Best rebounder” wrong. TJD, Post and Podz can handle it, as well as Vooch also being a fine rebounder. “Motion offense” ok but what does Dennis do? Things are changing in GSW whether you like it or not.
YDKB!
Green stalls out the offense at times. If Kerr plays Green at the 4 he is good but Kerr plays him at the 5 against bigger players and they lose.
Don’t know why either team would do this. Agree w Brabos points plus would sacrifice too much of Warriors depth.
And for Chicago, they’re not taking a bunch of spare parts without getting at least a first or 2, Vuc should get them a first by himself, and Zach’s play indicates that they’ll get better value for him asp, even if they have to wait a lil for his contract to be shorter.
That depth has gotten them nowhere. I am more tapped into the how the front office is feeling, you are busy playing 2K and trying to get “max value” that will never happen.
Bigs are who win. Everyone knows this. Vooch does everything Looney does and more. You all sound like you are just arguing against whatever I say and have no actual basis on anything you write. Pure reactionary garbage reply guy takes, that’s all you guys are tbh
Ah ok, so the bulls should accept the players that have “gotten them nowhere” in exchange for their 2 best players.
My thinking isn’t contrived, multiple reports have claimed a 1st is a realistic return for Vuc, and while overpaid, Lavine is still a borderline all-star whose value will increase as the years on his contract decrease.
I’m sure warriors would take Vuc for Looney straight up but not if it takes half their rotation , incl Wiggins especially.
Nothing I write on here is personal dawg , if it feels like everyone is always coming at you , then you should perchance think abt reevaluating some of your bad takes.
Burn him benjivain!
LMFAO
Matas is the only player on the bulls that shouldn’t be traded by the deadline, get the rest of these losers outta here, oh Coby white is good oh yeah he signed a below market contract that he can’t extend off of so he’s gonna leave for nothing after next year, Ayo will be gone this summer, I love the Bulls, but I can’t stand a single person who works for them or a single fan that pays a rich man to steal from them
In addition to Buzelis, I’m an Ayo believer bc I think he has another level to get to, a la Derrick white . Even if they have to pay him, they can always trade him later.
I also like Julian Phillips . Gotta work on his shot but his defense and effort are intriguing. Would wait another year or 2 to evaluate what kinda future he has.
Now or never on Vuc , his value wont be this high again.
Need to make a move to drop to 11 given how pitiful Phillys been, trading Vuc hopefully would be enough for that.
Warriors seem like the team . Also a Nurk swap maybe, but would Suns cash in two 1sts ? Seems unlikely, but don’t think Bulls should agree to less given how crappy those picks will prolly be.