The 2023-24 NBA regular season seems to be a transition period for the Chicago Bulls, with the storied franchise ready to blow things up after its attempts to build a title-contending team a few years ago with Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic leading the way.
Along with the team desperate to move off of LaVine’s enormous contract and potentially trade Caruso and or DeRozan before the NBA trade deadline on February 8, the Bulls still have to deal with the unfortunate Ball situation, which may force them to trade him as well, even though his basketball career could very well be over.
According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Ball could be moved at the deadline along with others in order to match salaries via NBA Central.
“Given that insurance is currently paying the bulk of his contract, it’s conceivable that Ball is used as a salary-matching addition to any potential trade the Bulls make before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.” Johnson said.
The Chicago Bulls could trade Lonzo Ball and use his contract as a salary filler, per @KCJHoop
“Given that insurance is currently paying the bulk of his contract, it’s conceivable that Ball is used as a salary-matching addition to any potential trade the Bulls make before the… pic.twitter.com/2hlWfaPclX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 17, 2024
After having the best year of his NBA career with the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2020-21 NBA season, Ball signed with the Bulls with hopes of helping Chicago get back to form as the perennial title contender the team was during the Michael Jordan era in the Windy City.
Things looked promising initially for Ball and the Bulls, but after 35 games played with the team, it seems as though he may never play again due to persistent knee issues.
Although the door isn’t completely closed on Ball getting back on the floor someday and contributing to a team in the NBA, the Bulls are ready to move on and would seemingly be content with moving him in a trade where they can get off his salary.
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