Chicago Bulls free agent targets worth overpaying for: Lonzo Ball
The continuous talk of the town for the Bulls in this looming cycle of free agency is the idea of signing the New Orleans Pelicans 6-foot-6 and 190-pound point guard Lonzo Ball. The former Los Angeles Laker and UCLA Bruin Lonzo is about to become one of the most high-profile restricted free agents on the market this summer.
And it seems like there will be plenty of suitors lining up to make their pitch to Lonzo to sign him this summer. Even the Pelicans look like they will still try and make their best pitch to re-sign Lonzo to a more long-term deal.
Head coach Billy Donovan needs some help with a primary ball-handler that can also boost the team’s perimeter defense. And that is why it makes sense for Karnsiovas and the Bulls to overpay for an ideal point guard target like Ball this summer. Considering that the contract discussions around various media and fan circles this summer are thinking about a Lonzo salary going north of $20-$25 million, overpaying might have to be the move to get him to Chicago.
It’s hard to say what price point for Lonzo should be considered the max for the Bulls this summer before turning to another option to fill the point guard need. Since the Bulls don’t have much more than $15 million in cap space straight up this summer (without making other moves to free up space on the books), it’s hard to see them going too far north of $21 million annually to sign Lonzo.
Granted by most considerations, whoever signs Lonzo is likely going to overpay for him based on his production from the past few seasons. He’s a young two-way point guard that is improving nearly every facet of his game. That type of skill set is going to cost you no matter what.