One of the more intriguing recent trade rumors that emerged for the Chicago Bulls new front office regime involved the former top three overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakers and the current New Orleans Pelicans potent two-way point guard Lonzo Ball. The Bulls had confirmed interest in looking into a trade for Lonzo with the Pelicans earlier in the week.
And that sparks the intrigue as to what first-year Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley would be willing to part ways with to get Lonzo to the Windy City. Karnisovas and Eversley remained mostly quiet last offseason in regards to making moves on the trade and free agent markets.
Since both the Bulls and Pelicans have a good amount of draft and player assets to work with this year, it could be an interesting brewing situation ahead of the March 25 trade deadline if discussions to get Ball to Chicago actually turn into something.
The Pelicans are starting to fall out of favor in the Western Conference playoff picture of late. Meanwhile, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls have started to rise up the Eastern Conference standings of late. The Bulls now own a record of 12-15 following their tough three-point win over the divisional foe Detroit Pistons on the night of Feb. 17.
Moreover, the Bulls have now won two games in a row, and three of their last four. The Bulls currently sit just 0.5 games back of the Charlotte Hornets for the eighth and final spot in the playoff picture in the East as of Feb. 18.
All in all, what should the Bulls be willing to give up if they were to take actual action on these Ball trade rumors? Here’s a look into three names to possibly watch in this discussion.
3) Chicago Bulls pieces to trade for Lonzo
Tomas Satoransky, Guard/Wing
The former Washington Wizards lengthy 6-foot-7 and 210 pound 29-year-old combo guard/wing Tomas Satoransky is one of the more unheralded potential names to watch that could be on the move as we approach the trade deadline next month. This former second round pick of the Wizards in the 2012 NBA Draft still brings a lot of value to the table with his team friendly contract.
Sato is also playing well of late as one of the veteran role players coming off the bench for this Bulls team. But once Sato lost his starting point guard job near the end of the 2019-20 regular season (in his inaugural year with the Bulls), the idea of him not being a long-term piece with this team started to come to fruition.
While the future at the point guard position for the Bulls might not be the second-year former North Carolina Tar Heel Coby White (or Ball for that matter), it doesn’t look like it will be Sato either. It might be best for both the Bulls and Sato to find a trade that works for both parties. And this year might be the right time for this type of move to happen with the Bulls young core improving at a rapid rate.
Sato has played in 16 games for the Bulls so far this season (starting in none of them), averaging around 20 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 6.4 points per game, 2.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks. Sato shot an increasingly efficient 49.3 percent from the field, 44.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Freeing up room in the Bulls backcourt rotation to make room for a Ball trade makes a lot of sense.
2) Chicago Bulls pieces to trade for Lonzo
Luke Kornet, Center
As far as salary matching and/or roster attrition are concerned as we near the trade deadline next month, the former Vanderbilt Commodores seven-footer and Bulls second-year big man Luke Kornet could now be a name to watch. Kornet started out his still young NBA career with the New York Knicks back during the 2017-18 season.
And after Kornet’s role with the Knicks peaked in his final year in New York City (in 2018-19), his minutes with any team started to decline from then on out. He got a decent amount of playing time under former head coach Jim Boylen with the Bulls last season. But it took a plethora of injury issues to emerge in the Bulls frontcourt rotation for Donovan to give him any sort of significant minutes this season.
So far this season, Kornet has played in just six games for the Bulls (starting in none of them), averaging around just seven minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 1.5 points per game, 1.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks. Kornet shot an inefficient 21.4 percent from the field, 9.1 percent from beyond the arc, and was perfect on two attempts from the free-throw line.
Moreover, there should still be a market for a big man that has the potential to stroke it from downtown and protect the rim, for a complete value price tag, such as Kornet. And with the Pelicans needing some frontcourt help on their bench right now, and Kornet largely needing a change of scenery, this could be a nice match for both sides.
1) Chicago Bulls pieces to trade for Lonzo
Wendell Carter Jr., Center
Obviously parting ways with the likes of the former Duke Blue Devils third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. would be more of a consequential move (undetermined now whether it would be positive or negative in that sense) than trading someone like Kornet or even Sato. The former seventh overall pick of the Bulls in the 2018 NBA Draft is having a lot of the same issues as he did in his first two years in the league, though.
This sizable 6-foot-10 and 270 pound 21-year-old big man is solid for Donovan and the Bulls when healthy and firmly in the rotation. But that hasn’t happened on a consistent basis. This is now three out of three years that WCJ has been able to remain healthy on a consistent basis for the Bulls too.
WCJ is roughly on pace to play in the same amount of regular season games this time around that he did in each of his first two in the NBA (around 40-45).
So far this season, WCJ has started in all 16 games he’s played for the Bulls, averaging around 27 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 13.0 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks. WCJ shot 55.1 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Parting ways with WCJ for a return that could include someone like Ball from the Pelicans would likely split the opinion of the Bulls fan base. But it is a move that could at least provide a more stable hand to the Bulls backcourt rotation and to the young core as a whole in terms of the injury history of WCJ compared to Ball.