Chicago Bulls steal Lonzo Ball in a sign-and-trade

The Chicago Bulls and restricted free agent Lonzo Ball came to terms on a 4 year, 85 million dollar deal immediately once free agency opened on Monday, August 2nd (per Shams Charania). The deal was a sign and trade in which the Bulls sent back Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and one second-round draft pick for Lonzo Ball.

Chicago Bulls basketball is officially back. Signing Lonzo Ball filled an immediate need at the point guard position.

Ball is the perfect running mate for Zach LaVine in the backcourt.

It’s been a while since Bulls basketball has been something to look forward to, but under the leadership of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, the Chicago Bulls finally appear to be moving in the right direction – making me moves to contend instead of always “retooling.”

One of the most glaring issues the Chicago Bulls faced last season was having a true point guard to facilitate the offense. Zach LaVine’s natural role is to be a lethal, efficient scorer. While he can facilitate the offense, his talents are maximized when asked to put the ball in the basket as much as possible. Similarly, Coby White also excels as a scorer off the bench, but often showed his age and inexperience when asked to run the entire offense – even as part of the second unit.

These issues were especially apparent at the end of close, back and forth games, which the Bulls were typically on the losing side of. Without a true point guard to run Billy Donovan’s offense, the Bulls often resorted to hero ball – forcing LaVine to put the entire team on his back down the stretch countless times.

Signing Lonzo Ball will help the Bulls immediately as he’s a gifted facilitator – compared to the likes of Lebron James when he came out of UCLA. Lonzo is only 23 years old but has improved significantly each year in the league. He has become a more consistent scorer year over year, has been amazing at passing the ball, and has improved his three-point shot considerably from when he entered the league in 2017.

The Chicago Bulls were also very fortunate to not have to sacrifice Lauri Markannen or Thaddeus Young in the sign and trade for Lonzo Ball. These are two assets that could help them acquire yet another impact free agent in the coming days.

Ultimately, the Chicago Bulls have gotten off to an amazing start in free agency this year and it’s clear that management believes a strong supporting cast around LaVine, Vucevic, and an emerging Patrick Williams will be enough to be strong competitors in the Eastern Conference for years to come.

There are undoubtedly many moves the Bulls still need to make to create cap space, acquire other impact players, and also extend LaVine, but as of now, the signing of Lonzo Ball shows the arrow is pointed in the right direction.