The Chicago Bulls’ recent success could have an impact on their trade deadline plans this season. After a sluggish start, they’ve climbed back into the race for the Play-In Tournament, and now, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are back from their respective injuries. The question is, will they reset the roster or look to add talent?
The real answer could fall somewhere in between. While they could end up trading guys like LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso, they could simply move talent around and look to add more win-now pieces. And even more interestingly, the Bulls may not be opposed to trading Lonzo Ball.
According to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein and his newsletter, “The Stein Line,” the Bulls may not have ruled out the idea of moving Ball’s contract in an attempt to add talent.
“Potentially supporting such notions are the recent whispers that the Bulls have not completely ruled out using Lonzo Ball’s insurance-covered contract in a trade to add talent,” Stein wrote.
“Ball, who has been particularly missed by LaVine, last played in January 2022 and will miss this entire season because of ongoing knee issues. The 26-year-old holds a $21.4 million player option for next season that he is certain to exercise, but with 80 percent of Ball’s contract covered by league-provided insurance because he’s been out so long, Chicago wouldn’t be paying out nearly that much if it simply opts to keep Ball.”
Ball hasn’t played in a game since January of 2022 and is slated to miss the entirety of this season, too.
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