Bulls Rumors: Contract negotiations could happen fast with Lonzo Ball
The pace of Bulls rumors are definitely going to pick up early this week with the free agency negotiation window opening up on Aug. 2. It seems like a good while since the Bulls ended the regular season, and now we’re about to see what the next phase of the building of this roster holds for the front office regime.
How executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley can add to this roster will go a long way to determining the success for head coach Billy Donovan ahead of next season. And one of the areas of need that pretty much all Bulls fans are watching and waiting for Karnisovas and Eversley to address in free agency this summer lies at the point guard position.
All of the buzz for the Bulls it seems in this cycle of free agency surrounds the New Orleans Pelicans restricted free agent point guard Lonzo Ball. It already appears that there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Bulls in a potential sign-and-trade scenario to get Lonzo from the Pelicans too.
Buzz keeps building in Bulls rumors for Lonzo Ball to land in Chicago
A double sign-and-trade may be in the works that would send Lonzo Ball out and Devonte’ Graham back to New Orleans, @johnhollinger writes in his latest update.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 2, 2021
“Ball would possibly go to Chicago, not to Charlotte as I had earlier been led to believe": https://t.co/jSfxYGqtwE pic.twitter.com/d5PYs4tqQR
John Hollinger of The Athletic has reported on the morning of Aug. 2 that the Bulls could be on the receiving end of Lonzo in a sign-and-trade scenario also with the Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets. Hollinger notes that the Hornets would ship off point guard Devonte’ Graham to the Pelicans, with NOLA sending Lonzo to the Bulls.
The initial thought on this matter was that the Hornets might be able to win Lonzo over the Bulls, but that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. The Hornets are set at the point guard position at the moment. With a trio of point guards including Terry Rozier, Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball, and Graham, all on the roster currently, the Hornets aren’t the best landing spot for Lonzo.
Moreover, as time moves along it seems like the Bulls are the ever-increasing favorite to land Lonzo in free agency. Whether that come by way of topping his offer sheet or getting him in a sign-and-trade deal from the Pelicans, the Bulls would do well to fill the need at the one with Lonzo.
It is believed that there’s still some other teams that could stay in the running to sign Lonzo this summer, including the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks. But the Bulls look to be in a good position right now to get the former UCLA Bruins soon.
3 free agents to replace Arch. dark. Next
The Bulls could have a busy free agent cycle in front of them. It already looks as if the likes of fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen and center Daniel Theis could be on the move, especially if there’s a deal involved with the Hornets in a sign-and-trade for Lonzo and Graham.