Ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks appear to be the two teams most strongly pursuing Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball. According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, both teams are eyeing trades for Ball, though most around the league believe the Pelicans won’t move the guard before the deadline.
“There’s skepticism around the league that the Pelicans will move Lonzo Ball ahead of the deadline, but that won’t stop teams from trying. League sources say the Bulls and Hawks are both in pursuit.”
O’Connor goes on to detail the packages each team is offering. For Chicago, their package centers on Tomas Satoransky and second-round picks with the Pelicans asking for at least one first-round pick or solid young player, neither of which are a part of the Bulls’ offer.
Atlanta’s package, though, is a bit more intriguing in that it centers around Cam Reddish. The former 10th overall pick has played 26 games for Atlanta this year and is averaging 11.2 points per game. He is, however, shooting just 26.2% from the 3-point line and is a career 30.9% 3-point shooter through the first 84 games of his NBA career.
While Ball would fit nicely alongside either of Zach LaVine in Chicago or Trae Young in Atlanta, neither move makes sense for the Pelicans in return. With Ball still being a restricted free agent, New Orleans isn’t forced to make a deal yet and can still match any offer sheet this offseason.
The Clippers are another team that has rumored interest in Ball, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. At the same time, LaVar Ball recently claimed in an interview that Lonzo is not happy in New Orleans and wants traded, though Lonzo himself has given quotes that directly contradict that.
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