A huge splash was made by the new front office regime of first-year executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on the morning of the trade deadline. Karnisovas and Eversley actually acted on one of the Bulls rumors that was in the pipeline of late. March 25 was set to be a key date on the timeline that is the Chicago Bulls 2020-21 season, but few fans knew that something like this would be coming.
The Bulls were able to acquire star big man Nikola Vucevic and forward Al-Farouq Aminu from the Orlando Magic for a return of a pair of draft picks and players. Veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. and third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. were shipped off to Orlando along with two future first round draft picks in order for the Bulls to land Vucevic and Aminu.
It also appears that Karnisovas, Eversley, and the Bulls might not be done on deadline day. A report on the Twitter timeline of ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on the morning of March 25 indicated that the Bulls new front office could still be discussing with the New Orleans Pelicans to try and get a deal done for the versatile two-way 6-foot-6 point guard Lonzo Ball.
Here's the deal: The Bulls land Nikola Vucevic and Al Farouq Aminu for Otto Porter, Wendell Carter Jr., and two first-round picks. Huge addition for Chicago, who remains in pursuit of Lonzo Ball. The Magic are moving toward a rebuild now with Aaron Gordon deal on deck.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2021
What acting on the Bulls rumors to get Lonzo Ball would mean?
The long-awaited decision on trade deadline day for this Bulls fan base from the new front office regime was what they would do to try and get Lonzo from the Pelicans. And that could be a good sign that there’s tangible reports that Karnisovas and Eversley are still trying to nab him out of NOLA.
However, it won’t come easy for the Bulls to get Lonzo from the Pels. They’ve already tried to offer fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen straight up for Lonzo, and that didn’t work. Other key pieces of this young core might have to be included in the discussions at this point.
If nothing else, at least star shooting guard Zach LaVine now has another star running mate in Vucevic. But adding Ball to the mix could take this starting five to another level, which wouldn’t be too comparable with how the roster was constructed pre-deadline.
Lonzo would be able to elevate the Bulls backcourt rotation compared to the group they have now in combo guard Tomas Satoransky and second-year point guard Coby White. Landing Lonzo will be the move that Bulls fans wait for next on deadline day.