5 Hypothetical Lonzo Ball Trades That Won't Help Today's Chicago Bulls One Bit
The Bulls have a Lonzo Ball problem. Fixing it will make things worse. At least for now.
IF YOU’RE NOT ROOTING for Lonzo Ball to resurrect his career, you have no basketball soul.
After multiple procedures to fix his balky knee proved unsuccessful, Ball wondered if his hoops life was in jeopardy. (Most of us pundit-types thought he was cooked.) But he fought his way back, and on October 23, 2024 — after not seeing NBA regular season action for over 1,000 days — Lonzo Ball took the court against the New Orleans Pelicans, where he looked very much like, y’know, Lonzo Ball.
Zo isn’t quite there yet, but he’s getting closer each week, as borne out by his 2024 per-36 numbers, which compare favorably to his career averages:
All of which is why I’m bummed to report that the Bulls have to trade Ball.
Thing is, they shouldn’t trade Ball. He’s Chicago’s best on-ball defender by far, he’s one of the more savvy floor generals in the Association, and he’s just 27.
But a move gotsta happen. Why?
Ball’s at the tail end of a four-year, $80 million contract, and, come the summer of 2025, will be asking for some legit coin — money that Chicago wouldn’t give Zo, even if they had it to give, meaning he’d walk for nothing.
Ball looks perfectly healthy on the court today, but if his knee goes tomorrow, it’s probably gone for good.
What with Coby White, Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, and (yuck) Jevon Carter on the roster, the Bulls’ point guard pool is filled to overflowing.
While Ball is far from old, he doesn’t fit Chicago’s timeline.
Since I do have a basketball soul, I’d prefer to see Lonzo in a Bulls uni for the next six years, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s simply not logical to keep him in the house. So in the spirit of making the best of things, I’ve concocted five Lonzo trade scenarios. Though they might be useful for the future of the franchise (#Tank, #DragForFlagg), four of these deals wouldn’t improve the 2024-25 Bulls one iota. But Chicago’s front office seems to enjoy not improving the Bulls one iota, so here we go.
(Editor’s note: All trades have been approved by ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.)
GOIN’ BACK TO CALI
LOS ANGELES LAKERS GET
Lonzo Ball
CHICAGO BULLS GET
D’Angelo Russell
Christian Wood -or- Cam Reddish
2025 second round draft pick (via LAC)
Clinging to the West’s 10-seed, the Lakers — who, believe it or not, have actual championship aspirations — must do something to improve their backcourt, as Russell and his 0.5 win share ain’t getting it done. Ball, a Cali naive and beloved former wearer of purple-and-gold, will give J.J. Redick’s squad some sorely needed leadership at the one-spot.
Russell and Wood/Reddish are all in the final year of their contract, and barring some miraculous performances, wouldn’t be re-signed by Chicago.
OH, BROTHER, HERE ART THOU
CHARLOTTE HORNETS RECEIVE:
Lonzo Ball
CHICAGO BULLS RECEIVE:
Josh Green
Tre Mann
Sporting the league’s fifth-worst record, the Hornets need a shot of something to keep their fans semi-interested, and pairing Lonzo with younger brother LaMelo is, indeed, semi-interesting. There’s a positional overlap — both Balls are very much point guards — but they’ve played enough driveway hoops together that meshing won’t be an issue.
As for the Bulls, Mann is on an expiring deal, and, what with Chicago’s crowded backcourt, wouldn’t be asked back. A pesky 23-year-old wing, Green has two more years left on his contract, and could be a useful chip going forward, especially if the Bulls ultimately find a new home for Zach LaVine.
FLORIDA FUN #1
MIAMI HEAT RECEIVES:
Lonzo Ball
CHICAGO BULLS RECEIVE:
Duncan Robinson
Alec Burks
2026 second round draft pick (via LAL)
If the Heat pull this off, there’ll be a party in Florida, not to celebrate landing Ball, but rather to cheer the long-awaited offloading of Robinson and his albatross-y deal. The fact that Miami HC Erik Spoelstra would finally have a legit backcourt defender at his disposal wouldn’t be a terrible thing, either.
The Bulls’ bean counters are probably pulling for this, too. They wouldn’t consider re-upping either Robinson or Burks, but they’d walk away with some draft capital. Crappy draft capital, granted, but draft capital nonetheless.
FLORIDA FUN #2
ORLANDO MAGIC RECEIVES:
Lonzo Ball
2028 second round draft pick
CHICAGO BULLS RECEIVE:
Anthony Black
Jett Howard
Gary Harris
With their two best players (Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner) out for the foreseeable future, the Magic are a scootch desperate, so Chicago might be able to extricate some actual help from them.
The 17-11 Magic — who, even without Banchero or Wagner in tow, are still very much in the mix for a first-round playoff series home-court advantage — might well go for this, as their starting point Jalen Suggs isn’t exactly an all-world defender, and a backcourt of Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would be a relentless nightmare for each and every one of the league’s second units.
The only downside for Chicago is that each of the three theoretical new Bulls have multiple years remaining on their deals — 30-year-old Harris has two, while Black (20) and Howard (21) both have three. Unless Chicago’s FO is in love with Black and Howard, that’s likely a dealbreaker.
PEACHY KEEN
ATLANTA HAWKS RECEIVE:
Lonzo Ball
Nikola Vucevic
CHICAGO BULLS RECEIVE:
Clint Capela
Larry Nance Jr.
David Roddy
Garrison Mathews
2025 second round draft pick (via MIN)
This would be Chicago’s dream scenario, as they rid themselves of both Vooch’s and Ball’s contracts, while bringing back three expirings and a pick.
On paper, re-signing Capela might make sense for Chicago, but he turns 31 next spring, so what with the Bulls’ youth movement in full effect, it would have to be a bargain basement deal.
As for Atlanta, they allow 118.7 points per game, the third-worse in the East. If Ball can shave even two points off of that, Atlanta likely climbs from the Play-In to the Playoffs.