This cycle of free agency around the NBA landscape really started off with the Chicago Bulls making a big deal to find the point guard of the future that this team sought after so greatly heading into the offseason. Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls managed to sign the New Orleans Pelicans restricted free agent point guard Lonzo Ball in a sign-and-trade deal announced on Aug. 2.
Starting off this cycle of free agency with a bang is something that the Bulls are going to come to expect under the front office regime of Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. Karnisovas and Eversley came out with a bang at the trade deadline back on March 25, when they landed star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, among other big pieces.
Chicago Bulls get the point guard the franchise needed in Lonzo Ball
One of the big-time players that the Bulls looked to want to land back on deadline day this year was Lonzo. And now Karnisovas and the Bulls got that elusive point guard of the future that they wanted so badly heading into next season.
Landing Lonzo is also an idea that the Bulls fan base really went along with in recent months. And on Aug. 2, the Bulls got it done to sign him to a four-year contract worth around $85 million in total.
The Bulls did have to give up some pieces in this sign-and-trade deal to get Lonzo from the Pelicans. What the Bulls had to ship off included combo guard Tomas Satoransky, veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple, and a second-round draft pick.
Here’s a look into the definitive reaction and grades to the sign-and-trade deal with the Pelicans to get Lonzo for the Bulls.
What the Chicago Bulls had to give up to get Lonzo Ball?
First and foremost, I want to say that what the Bulls had to give up to get Lonzo was not all that bad. An idea started to emerge on the morning of Aug. 2 that the Bulls could give up something like this to get Lonzo from the Pelicans. But most of the offseason thus far gave the idea that fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen would be the piece that Karnisovas and the Bulls would use in a sign-and-trade deal with the Pelicans.
The first piece that the Bulls gave up in this trade was the 35-year-old former Brooklyn Nets guard Temple. It wasn’t all that bad that the Bulls had to give up Temple in this sign-and-trade deal since he was an impending unrestricted free agent anyway. The Pelicans wound up signing Temple to a three-year contract subsequently, with the first two years guaranteed.
With all of this in mind, it’s not bad that the Bulls had to give up Temple, especially considering all of this cap space that is now gone with the signing of Ball.
The more pressing of the matter of the pieces that the Bulls gave up to get Lonzo to the Windy CIty is Sato. A key contributor to the Bulls over the past two seasons, Sato could’ve still been a key piece to this backcourt unit for head coach Billy Donovan heading into next season.
But Sato likely was not going to be back with the Bulls beyond next season. You also have this consideration once again that the Bulls had to shed Sato’s salary to be able to make room for some of the bigger signings that Karnisovas and Eversley had in mind for this summer.
The main drawback here is that the Bulls had to continue to give up some future draft capital to land Lonzo, but that is a small price to pay to get that elusive point guard of the future.
Grading what the Bulls had to give up: B+
What the Chicago Bulls are getting in return with Lonzo Ball?
This sign-and-trade deal for the Bulls only saw Lonzo come back from the Pelicans. With that in mind, the Bulls likely weren’t expecting and/or wanting to get anything else in this sign-and-trade deal beyond Lonzo. Karnisovas looks to have a plethora of other free agent targets in mind to add to this roster for the rest of this cycle.
The starting unit now has a legitimate point guard for the future to work with. No longer will the Bulls have to worry about whether Sato or fellow point guard Coby White is a better fit with the starting unit. Star shooting guard Zach LaVine and Vooch have a point guard that will also help to create more space for them to work on offense, and more help to make up for any lapses on defense.
If LaVine and Vooch are ready to run more in transition, they now have their guy in Lonzo.
The starting unit should now feature the likes of Lonzo at the one, LaVine at the two, forward Patrick Williams at the three, potentially veteran forward Thaddeus Young from the four, and Vooch at the five. Lonzo is a great fit with this starting five, and the Bulls are now a bigger threat in the Eastern Conference moving forward.
There was a legitimate reason why Lonzo was considered the top point guard target for the Bulls this summer. Other options did exist that would’ve been effective too, such as Spencer Dinwiddie, Reggie Jackson, Kyle Lowry, etc. But the Bulls got the guy that the front office and fan base wanted.