Chicago Bulls: Lonzo Ball trade official, investigation still ongoing

The trade is official. The Chicago Bulls announced the trade to land former New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball.

The trade, as announced, sent Ball to Chicago and veterans Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple back to New Orleans, along with a future second-round pick.

Ball comes to Chicago after the Bulls had shown interest in him for over a year. Having desired to trade for Ball before the last two seasons’ trade deadlines, the Bulls found the ultimate value in getting him via sign-and-trade a week ago.

Temple and Satoransky leave Chicago after being two staple players for the team last season, providing the Bulls with veteran leadership and versatility. Still, the fact that Ball is in Chicago is a huge lift — and a move that seemed to be in jeopardy at one point.

Although the Chicago Bulls have officially acquired Lonzo Ball, a tampering investigation remains open.

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks made some good points recently in a video he posted to Instagram regarding the Bulls’ tampering case.

Marks talked about how the Bulls should have at least waited until 6:30 or 6:45pm ET to announce the deal, rather than immediately announcing a deal after the free agency doors opened.

Marks also said that he believes the league is “going to nail these teams” that are being investigated for tampering.

There is a positive to the tampering investigation, believe it or not. The fact that the trade went through and the contracts were not voided is a huge sigh of relief for the Bulls and their fans. Some will remember the league voiding the Los Angeles Lakers’ attempt to land point guard Chris Paul years ago, so the fact that the Bulls didn’t lose out on their man is a big deal.

Still, the NBA could choose to do one or two of a few things if the Bulls are found guilty. The league could suspend Bulls executives, fine them a maximum of $10 million or even strip future draft picks.

Now, if the league chooses to fine the Bulls, that’s probably best-case scenario. That money doesn’t come by way of the salary cap, which is a positive.

Where the Bulls would really be hurting is if the NBA decides to strip Chicago of future draft capital. The Bulls are already without three future first-round picks after dealing them in trades to land Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan. Chicago is also without a few second rounders thanks to the Ball and DeRozan deals.

What matters most, though, is the fact that Ball is a Bull. Finally, after all this time, the Bulls got their point guard. Now, it’s about waiting for this investigation to close so that Chicago can officially move on.