Chicago Bulls: Is Lonzo Ball the piece that will carry Chicago back to the playoffs?
Will Lonzo Ball prove to be the missing piece for the Chicago Bulls?
NBA free agency is arguably the most exciting time of the year for the league and can captivate some fans more than even the games themselves. Some teams are aggressive right out of the gate, and those teams are usually the ones looking to make a push towards a playoff spot or even a championship. On day 1 of free agency, the Chicago Bulls looked to be one of those aggressive teams, looking to turn themselves into a playoff contender.
First, it was announced that the Bulls would pick up Lonzo Ball in a sign-and-trade deal, sending Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a second-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans. In the deal, Ball signed a four-year deal reportedly worth $85 million.
Later on in the day, the Bulls went on to sign Alex Caruso to a four-year, $37 million deal. Caruso was a part of the 2020 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers team and had become a beloved member of their roster over the last couple of seasons.
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The Bulls are coming off of their first year with Billy Donovan as their head coach and with their new front office, and during their short time with the franchise, they’ve shown that they’re wanting to make moves that help them win now, rather than continue their previous path of developing younger guys.
The Bulls now have a new foundational core
Ball and Caruso will join Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic as a part of the Bulls’ core group. Ball, a former No. 2. overall draft pick, hasn’t quite lived up to the hype that his father LaVar Ball worked so hard to build up before he entered the league. Still, Ball is coming off a season in which he averaged nearly 15 points per game for the Pelicans.
Caruso, with the Lakers, averaged just above six points per game.
Neither player is a “great” scorer, but they’re quick, defensive-minded players who can handle the ball, and take a little pressure off of LaVine. Ball is also a tremendous passing guard, as he’s proven since his time at UCLA.
This pair of guards is joining a Bulls franchise that has spent its fair share of time on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, and after being just a few games out of the play-in tournament (which they could have potentially made if LaVine didn’t miss crucial time towards the end of the year) the franchise hopes Ball and Caruso could help get them back to the playoffs.
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The Bulls may not be done making moves in free agency, but there’s no question that adding Ball and Caruso was a good first couple of signings.