3) Chicago Bulls trades with the Pels for Lonzo Ball
It’s hard to imagine that Karnisovas and the Bulls could get the likes of Ball from the Pels for a trade that just sends veteran combo guard/wing Tomas Satoransky to NOLA, and that’s it. The Bulls would also likely have to part ways with some other player assets, or future draft capital, to get this deal done if it were to happen in the near future.
What Karnisovas and the Bulls ship off in this particular trade deal is the former Washington Wizard Sato and two future second round draft picks for the return of Lonzo. This would allow the Bulls to still keep White in the mix to pair with star shooting guard Zach LaVine. But they could get a true point guard in the starting five, or at least in the mix in the crucial part of the backcourt rotation.
Sato is a big part of the Bulls efforts so far this season, but he also brings a team friendly contract to the table that still offers a lot of value to other teams around the NBA (if he were to be traded). He’s got two years remaining on his current contract, worth around $10 million annually. And he has a clause in his contract that only gives $5 million guaranteed for next year.
What the Bulls could get out of Ball is a strong two-way point guard that is a very good one-on-one perimeter defender and facilitates with about as good of court vision as anyone in the NBA. In 15 games played so far this season (all of which he’s started in), Ball averaged 12.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks. And he’s shot 40.0 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line.