In 2021, the Chicago Bulls decided they were sick of rebuilding their roster and made a charge forward, completing a series of moves in an attempt to push for the postseason. At the deadline, they traded for Nikola Vucevic, and the following summer, they signed DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso.
Unfortunately, the Bulls have only won a single playoff game since they made their major changes, and a big part of that has been the injury to Ball. The point guard went down just 35 games into his tenure with the team, and he has yet to return to the court. Now, he’s expected to miss all of next season, too.
Keith Smith of Spotrac spoke with members of multiple team staffs while in Las Vegas for Summer League. One Bulls staff member noted how difficult it has been to build around the injury to Ball.
“Working around Lonzo Ball’s injury makes everything a little harder,” they told Smith. “We were a good team before he went down. You build a roster designed to play a certain way, around expensive players, and it becomes very hard when you lose one of those key guys. But we’re figuring it out.”
At face value, Ball’s injury leaves the Bulls without a starting point guard and one of their best three-point shooters. But a deeper look reveals that it also leaves them with over $20 million in dead cap on their books, restricting their ability to build their roster.
Should the Bulls look to dump Ball’s contract in an attempt to clear their books? Or should they simply hope he eventually returns to the court?
