Lonzo Ball

Bulls Reluctant To Trade Lonzo Ball?

February 4th, 2025 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Bulls have received trade interest in Lonzo Ball, they’re not eager to move the veteran point guard and wouldn’t be looking to buy him out of his expiring contract if he remains in Chicago beyond Thursday’s deadline, sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

According to Stein, the Bulls actually have some interest in re-signing Ball beyond his current deal, which pays him approximately $21.4MM this season.

Ball, who missed two-and-a-half NBA seasons while undergoing a series of surgeries to address a troublesome knee injury, made his comeback in the fall and has enjoyed a successful bounce-back season.

While his numbers – 7.2 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game – are career lows across the board and his shooting percentages – 36.9% from the floor, 34.8% on three-pointers – are below his usual rates, Ball has been a positive contributor beyond the box score. The Bulls have been 10.5 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the court than when he’s not.

More importantly, the former No. 2 overall pick hasn’t had any setbacks related to his knee and has seen his minutes limit steadily increase over the course of the season. He logged a season-high 28 minutes on Sunday vs. Detroit.

Due to Ball’s injury history and his relatively high cap hit, the Bulls are extremely unlikely to acquire more than second-round draft capital in any deal involving the 27-year-old unless they take back an unwanted contract or two.

It’s easy to make a case that hanging onto Ball’s Bird rights and re-signing him in the offseason (for far less than the four years and $80MM he got back in 2021) would be better for the Bulls in the long run than adding a second-round pick or two. He remains eligible to sign an in-season extension, so Chicago could even get something done before the summer if he’s not traded.

Of course, this could also be a leverage play by the Bulls in an effort to improve the trade offers coming in for Ball. Stein acknowledges as much, but says (via Twitter) that this is the direction Chicago has been trending with Ball as Thursday’s deadline nears.

Bulls Waive Torrey Craig, Chris Duarte To Finalize LaVine Trade

February 3rd, 2025 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have officially announced the completion of their three-team trade with the Kings and Spurs that sends Zach LaVine to Sacramento and lands Zach Collins, Tre Jones, and Kevin Huerter in Chicago.

In order to accommodate the one-for-three deal, Chicago has officially waived veteran wing Torrey Craig and fourth-year swingman Chris Duarte. Both players will become unrestricted free agents on Wednesday if they’re not claimed on waivers.

Craig, 34, exercised a $2.85MM player option last June in order to remain in Chicago for a second season after averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game across 53 outings (14 starts) in 2023/24.

However, Craig was limited to just nine appearances this season — he has battled injuries and wasn’t a significant part of the rotation even when healthy. He appeared to be nearing a return from a right ankle sprain that had sidelined him since December 30, so he may draw some interest on the open market.

As for Duarte, the former 13th overall pick was sent from Sacramento to Chicago as a salary-matching piece in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade in July.

A former standout at Oregon, Duarte got off to a solid start in the NBA when he averaged 13.1 points per game with a .369 3PT% as a rookie in Indiana in 2021/22, but his playing time and his production has declined every year since then. He played just 74 total minutes across 17 appearances as a Bull.

Within their press release announcing the trade and the Craig and Duarte cuts, the Bulls included a statement thanking LaVine for his time with the organization.

“Zach has been a cornerstone for this organization and the city,” executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said. “He truly embraced what it means to be a Bull. His work ethic and passion for the game have been inspiring. During his time here, he not only grew as a player but also started a family, and we watched him develop into the person he is today.

“We also sincerely thank Chris and Torrey for their professionalism and contributions. Our organization is extremely appreciative of everything each of these guys have given to the team.”

The Bulls continue to explore their options on the trade market, including potentially flipping Jones and/or Huerter, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links).

Johnson adds that there’s some optimism within the organization about the possibility of acquiring draft capital in a Lonzo Ball deal. He also notes that the Bulls engaged with the Bucks about a possible LaVine trade before shifting their focus to the deal with the Kings and Spurs.

The full story on that three-team trade can be found here.

Bulls Notes: Ball, LaVine, Vucevic, Buzelis

February 1st, 2025 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

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.”

No Untouchables In Bulls’ Trade Talks

January 27th, 2025 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Lonzo Ball have been the Bulls players most frequently cited this season as trade candidates, but head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas would be open to moving just about anyone on the roster if he thinks the deal is in the team’s best long-term interests and helps Chicago keep its top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

Cowley identifies Matas Buzelis as the only exception, but clarifies that the rookie forward isn’t “completely untouchable” either.

The report doesn’t come as a real surprise. Chicago has also reportedly made forward Patrick Williams available, and Cowley suggested last month that guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu aren’t off the table in trade talks.

The Bulls also aren’t likely to be especially attached to reserves like Jalen Smith, Jevon Carter, Chris Duarte, Torrey Craig, and Talen Horton-Tucker, while youngsters Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips haven’t established themselves as long-term keepers.

That leaves Josh Giddey, who was viewed as Chicago’s probable point guard of the future when the team acquired him last summer from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso. Giddey didn’t sign a rookie scale extension last fall and has had an up-and-down first season as a Bull, but I’d still be a little surprised if he’s moved by next Thursday, given that his value on an expiring contract would be limited.

A source tells Cowley that Karnisovas has come down to some extent on what teams viewed as “unrealistic” asking prices for his top trade chips earlier in the season, though that doesn’t mean he’s simply willing to sell off players to the highest bidder.

Discussing the latest on Vucevic within a trade rumor round-up on his Substack, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports that the Bulls are still seeking a first-round pick in return for the veteran center. Stein describes the Warriors as “at the front of the line” of Vucevic suitors, but says Golden State has been unwilling to offer more than second-round capital to this point.

As for LaVine, he was at the center of one of the season’s earlier notable trade rumors when a report in mid-December indicated that the Nuggets had real interest in the Bulls guard. However, LaVine has been on a tear since then, further increasing his value by staying healthy and averaging 27.0 points per game on .524/.467/.786 shooting over his past 18 games. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has heated up too, putting up 21.3 PPG and 5.9 APG with a .485/.404/.913 shooting line during the same time frame.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, Murray’s resurgence will likely make “big-game hunting less of a priority” for the Nuggets, while LaVine’s heater will make it more difficult for Denver to meet Chicago’s asking price. So the odds of a trade sending LaVine to the Nuggets look slimmer than they did a month ago.

In case you missed it, we wrote about another Bulls-related rumor earlier today, passing along word that Chicago has talked to the Suns about Bradley Beal.

Central Notes: Atkinson, Pistons, Vucevic, Ball

January 24th, 2025 at 7:04pm CST by Luke Adams

When Boston lost to the Lakers on Thursday, it guaranteed that the Cavaliers will hold the best record in the Eastern Conference through February 2. That, in turn, ensured that Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson will coach one of the four All-Star teams on February 16 in San Francisco, while an assistant on his staff will coach another of those four squads, the NBA announced (Twitter links).

In past seasons, the head coaches for the teams with the best records in the East and West prior to the All-Star break would coach their respective conference in the All-Star Game. It’s a little more complicated this season due to the new four-team format, which is why both Atkinson and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault will be bringing an assistant to All-Star weekend next month.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the Central:

The Pistons traded their 2021 first-round pick during the 2020 offseason as part of a sign-and-trade deal that sent Christian Wood to Houston. However, that pick included heavy protections and has yet to convey while being traded three more times since then, from Houston to Oklahoma City to New York to Minnesota. As Jared Ramsey of The Detroit Free Press observes, 2025 may be the year that pick finally changes hands — the Timberwolves will receive it if it lands outside of the top 13 and the Pistons are very much in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East at 23-21.
Prior to Thursday’s matchup with Golden State, Bulls center Nikola Vucevic said he didn’t view the game – against a team rumored to have interest in him – as an audition, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s been many rumors in the past where I then played that certain team I’ve been linked to or not, and it doesn’t really affect me because I don’t think that way,” Vucevic said. If it was a tryout, the veteran big man didn’t exactly ace it, matching his season-low with nine points in a blowout loss to the Warriors, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.
In a separate story for the Tribune, Poe wonders if guard Lonzo Ball might end up being the Bulls‘ best trade chip at the February 6 deadline. His injury history is obviously a significant red flag, but Ball is the only one of the team’s highly-paid trade candidates who is on an expiring deal and Chicago has a +7.4 net rating during his minutes this season. In fact, it doesn’t seem as if the Bulls are especially eager to move on from the former No. 2 overall pick, who “quietly commands the locker room,” Poe writes.

Lakers Eyeing Lonzo Ball?

January 24th, 2025 at 1:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Multiple teams have checked in on the Bulls‘ asking price for Lonzo Ball, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). While it’s unclear if the Lakers are one of those teams, Jovan Buha of The Athletic believes they could make a run at the 27-year-old, whom the Lakers drafted No. 2 overall back in 2017.

“I think Lonzo is someone that’s going to be on their radar, and I think depending on the price if you could get him for a second or two seconds, I think that’s an interesting swing, and also someone with that 6’6” frame that could potentially I think be similar to Bruce Brown, check a couple boxes,” Buha told Jason Timpf on the Hoops Tonight podcast (YouTube video link).

Ball is currently on a $21.4MM expiring deal. Across 24 healthy contests this season, the 6’6″ guard is averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds a night in 20.5 minutes per.

” … He’s bulked up a little bit throughout his career, so he can guard twos and even some smaller threes and potentially be part of a one-through-three switching scheme,” Buha continued (hat tip to Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report). “And then offensively I think especially coming off the bench as a secondary ball-handler, playmaker and also a spot-up shooter, I think he’s someone who’s an interesting gamble for them.”

Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN took stock of the Lakers’ projected deadline plans. Even though the fifth-seeded Lakers are currently just three games ahead of the No. 11 Warriors in the Western Conference’s playoff race, sources tell Bontemps and Windhorst that the Lakers front office hasn’t shown any signs of aggression as of late.

L.A. has been reluctant in recent years to include any future first-round draft selections in a deal and it doesn’t appear that stance has changed, per ESPN’s duo. When the team moved D’Angelo Russell last month, it surrendered its lone big expiring contract, which will make it more difficult to complete additional trades.

Bontemps and Windhorst opine that if the Lakers make another move before this season’s February 6 deadline, it could be a relatively modest deal, in line with the team’s acquisition for Dorian Finney-Smith. That lines up with recent reporting from Buha.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this report.

Bulls Notes: Buzelis, White, LaVine, Ball

January 20th, 2025 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis has committed to the Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend, joining Spurs guard Stephon Castle as the two players confirmed to participating in the event so far, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Buzelis is the first Bulls player since Tyrus Thomas in 2007 to commit to the dunk contest. He’ll be the fifth Bulls player to participate in the contest, joining Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Orlando Woolridge and Thomas, Chris Kwiecinski of Fox23Chicago.com relays.

We have more on the Bulls:

Coby White is scheduled to have imaging done on his injured right ankle on Tuesday during an off day in Los Angeles, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. White came up limping in the late going of Sunday’s loss to Portland, Johnson adds in another tweet.
Zach LaVine carried an upbeat attitude into the season and it’s reflected in his play, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. LaVine came into Monday’s contest against the Clippers averaging 28.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in January. He has also been a positive influence off the court, according to coach Billy Donovan. “He’s been great in the locker room, he’s been great off the court, he’s been great with our guys,” Donovan said. “I can’t tell you there’s been numerous times this year where he’s come into my office and said to me, ‘Hey, I feel like this player is struggling a little bit. Is there anything I can talk to them about?'”
With White and Ayo Dosunmu out (injury management) on Monday, Lonzo Ball received his second start of the season, the team tweets. Ball, who is on an expiring contract, was making his 23rd appearance this season after missing two-and-a-half seasons due to knee issues.

Central Notes: Bulls, Ball, Pacers, Cavaliers

January 19th, 2025 at 1:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bulls front office, led by team president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, needs to get candid about its roster intentions as the trade deadline nears, opines Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

As Cowley writes, head coach Billy Donovan, not Karnisovas or Eversley, has been compelled to answer reporters’ questions about Chicago’s long-term plans. The team occupies something of a no-man’s land for now. After trading DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso over the summer but retaining many talented veterans and bringing in Josh Giddey, the Bulls are in more or less the same terrain they were in last year.

At 18-24, the Bulls are the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. They finished at No. 9 last season and were eliminated in the play-in tournament. They’re competent enough to at least be in the postseason conversation again, but are likely to miss the playoffs proper for the third straight season while still being at risk of losing their top-10 protected 2025 first round-pick.

Cowley suggests that Karnisovas owes reporters and fans a frank discussion of his intentions moving forward with the team.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

It may be time for the NBA to revive its Comeback Player of the Year award, in part to reward players like Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, posits Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. The award lasted for six seasons before the league ultimately replaced it with its Most Improved Player honor. Ball overcame formidable odds to return from a two-and-a-half-year, three-surgery layoff, once again becoming a consistent contributor for Chicago.
The Pacers have a long-term decision to make about the fate of their fifth starter, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Reserve wing Bennedict Mathurin performed admirably while filling in for injured starter Aaron Nesmith, who returned to action this week. Nesmith reclaimed his starting spot on Thursday on a minutes limit while Mathurin served a one-game suspension; Mathurin took it back on Saturday a 115-102 victory against Philadelphia. Nesmith has yet to play more than 11 minutes in either of his first two games back, and Dopirak predicts that, until he can reliably play 30 minutes a night, Mathurin will continue to start. Dopirak takes a look at what each player can bring to the table as a starter.
The standout Cavaliers have earned an “A-plus” grade midway through their 2024/25 season, opines Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber exclusive). Cleveland is the top seed in the East, sporting a 35-6 record, and looks like it could send three or even four players to the All-Star Game next month. Under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, the team appears to have taken a leap and become a true-blue title contender.

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Ball, Williams, Donovan

January 15th, 2025 at 11:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Although Bulls swingman Zach LaVine is in the midst of a career year, the two-time All-Star’s teammates feel he is getting short shrift from national media and fans, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.

“I don’t understand it,” guard Lonzo Ball said. “(He’s) definitely a top-three shooting guard in the NBA right now. I don’t understand why people talk down on him. He’s a true professional.”

Bulls guard Coby White, LaVine’s longest-tenured Chicago teammate, believes LaVine’s excellence has been under-appreciated for the entirety of their partnership.

“He’s been overlooked since I’ve been here,” White told Poe.

LaVine is shooting with remarkable efficiency as the top scorer on the 18-23 Bulls. Through 36 games, the 29-year-old is averaging 23.8 points per game on a .516/.455/.807 slash line. He’s also chipping in 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per night.

Poe notes that Chicago has had just three games on national television this year, which could be partly to blame for why LaVine has been somewhat unheralded in 2024/25.

“Unfortunately, sometimes it’s out of sight, out of mind,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “When guys are not necessarily out there all the time, it’s hard. You’re not really watching them or seeing them or thinking about them.”

There’s more out of Chicago:

Ball, meanwhile, has been impressive in his first healthy stretch since 2021/22, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Following three surgeries to address a recurring knee issue, he is finally back in action for Chicago, on a minutes limit. Cowley notes, however, that Ball is now consistently playing more minutes off the bench. “I didn’t know what to expect [of Ball] because a lot of the workouts that I watched were one-on-one, and I didn’t see him play five-on-five,’’ Donovan said of Ball’s gradual return ahead of the season. ‘‘I got pretty optimistic when training camp started. I was able to see he was running and doing the things he was doing. He [just] needed to get his timing back.”
Bulls forward Patrick Williams has been only sporadically available to Donovan this season. When Williams does hit the floor, the head coach wants to see steadier production from the fifth-year wing out of Florida, Cowley notes in another Sun-Times story. “My expectations for him, even in my conversations with him, is, and this is going to be kind of a broad statement, but you got to feel him out there,” Donovan said. “That’s not necessarily scoring. He’s shot the ball pretty well. You gotta feel him on the glass, feel him in transition, feel him with the activity with his hands, feel him at the rim. That. I think he’s capable of doing that. That’s really been the message more than anything else, of him getting his body size, physicality into the game.”
Williams inked a five-year, $90MM deal as a restricted free agent to stay with Chicago long-term over the summer. On Wednesday, he became trade-eligible.

Bulls Notes: Ball, Dosunmu, DeRozan, Karnisovas

January 12th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In a narrow 124-119 loss to Sacramento on Sunday, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball made his first start since January 14, 2022. As Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, a grateful Ball – who started all 35 of his outings in 2021/22 in his first year with the Bulls was happy for the opportunity to at least temporarily reclaim that role.

“[I’m] thankful for everybody that stuck with me, appreciative of the organization for riding with me the whole way and just seeing it all come full circle,” Ball said.

The UCLA alum underwent three surgeries to repair a meniscus issue in his knee and missed the two-and-a-half seasons. This season, Ball had previously only played under a minutes restriction off the bench.

Across 26 minutes of action on Sunday as a starter, Ball scored 15 points and handed out three assists. Starter Coby White was sidelined with a neck injury.

“Whatever you need from him, he’s always ready to play,’’ Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of Ball.

There’s more out of the Windy City:

Bulls sixth man guard Ayo Dosunmu, who if healthy would have started over Ball, has been sidelined since December 23 with a calf injury. According to Williams, Dosunmu continues to rehab the ailment and inch closer towards an on-court return. ‘‘We’ve gotten a really good response from the ramp-up,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘There’s a few more days they want to continue on that, just to see how he responds. With some of the hurdles we’ve wanted him to cross, he’s responded pretty well.’’
Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan reflected on the end of his three-year Bulls run during his first game back in Chicago on Sunday, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. The six-time All-Star unpacked how things ended between him and the Bulls last summer, when he ultimately agreed to join Sacramento on a three-year, $73.9MM deal via sign-and-trade. “Sometimes the way the business of basketball works, a lot of stuff becomes out of both sides’ control,” DeRozan said. “But with that, just got to appreciate the time that was spent there. I gave it my all, all three years.” With the victory Sunday, DeRozan’s Kings won their seventh straight game. Sacramento is now 7-1 under interim head coach Doug Christie.
The next few weeks ahead of the February 6 NBA trade deadline could ultimately either make or break Bulls team president Arturas Karnisovas’ stint leading the front office, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. At 18-21, Chicago occupies the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of Philadelphia for the last play-in tournament spot. The team boasts several veteran players on tradable contracts and has a limited ceiling with its current roster. Poe notes that Karnisovas remaining relatively inactive at a critical transaction point once again would represent a potentially disastrous approach for Chicago. The Bulls haven’t made the playoffs in two years and appear unlikely to break through this season. That said, they will not have their own draft pick this summer if it falls outside the top 10, so it may behoove them to get worse in a hurry. Poe writes that the team hasn’t had significant talks about offloading former two-time All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, and is reportedly open to trading anyone on its roster. White and Dosunmu, two solid young players on reasonable deals, have surprisingly not received much trade interest yet, per Poe.

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