Chicago Bulls: New wrinkle in Lonzo Ball trade may spell trouble

Almost a week ago, the Chicago Bulls started free agency with a bang. As soon as the opening bell rang, the Bulls agreed to terms with point guard Lonzo Ball on a four-year deal worth $85 million.

The deal was part of a sign-and-trade with the New Orleans Pelicans and included multiple players. The problem might be, though, that the deal seemed to happen to quick.

A new report suggests the Bulls will now be investigated by the league for possible tampering with Ball. That would mean the Bulls were in contact with Ball or his agent, or even the Pelicans, before the free agency period opened up at 5:00pm CST on Monday.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that team officials, agents and players have been notified of the investigation being opened up.

If the Chicago Bulls are found guilty of tampering, the deal for Ball could look different.

According to the report, the Bulls could end up facing penalties such as a fine (maximum of $10 million), suspension of team executives, loss of future NBA draft picks or even the voiding of contracts altogether. The Bulls are also not the only team being investigated.

What does that mean for the Bulls?

The most strict of all possible penalties would include Ball’s contract being voided as if the trade never happened in the first place. In that case, Ball would go back to the Pelicans and the Bulls would be out of luck.

It is also possible that the Bulls lose out on future draft picks, which would be almost as bad of a punishment. Chicago is already out quite a bit of draft capital over the next few years. The trade for center Nikola Vucevic cost Chicago two first-round picks and the trade for DeMar DeRozan cost the Bulls a future first rounder as well.

Chicago also sent two seconds in the deal for DeRozan, as well as a second rounder for Ball. If the Ball trade is voided, there is a chance the Bulls still lose out on that second rounder — or even more.

Last year, the Milwaukee Bucks were stripped of a second-round pick due to the league finding them guilty of tampering with Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was a restricted free agent with the Sacramento Kings. Even though Bogdanovic ultimately signed with the Atlanta Hawks, the Bucks were still punished.

Because the deal actually went down with Ball and Chicago, the penalty might be worse for the Bulls.

Longtime NBA fans will remember the league voiding Chris Paul’s trade to go to the Los Angeles Lakers several years back, and many will argue that “everybody tampers.” The league should cool down a bit with these types of investigations, quite frankly. If this deal with Ball falls through, Bulls fans will be awfully disappointed.