When the Chicago Bulls reshaped their roster in 2021, they changed everything. They brought in DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball in free agency, and before all of that, they added Nikola Vuevic at the 2021 trade deadline. Fast forward to nearly three years later, and things haven’t gone according to plan.
The Bulls have won just a single playoff game since then, and while they are in the Play-In race this season, it’s looking like they are going to restructure the roster at the trade deadline. Ball hasn’t played in a game since January of 22 – two years ago – and while he’s not going to get back on the court anytime soon, his time with the Bulls could be over sooner than most expect.
KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago recently reported that ist’s “conceivable” that the Bulls use Ball’s salary in a potential trade.
“Ball owns a $21.4 million player option for next season that he’ll certainly exercise,” Johnson wrote. “Given that insurance is currently paying the bulk of his contract, it’s conceivable that Ball is used as a salary-matching addition to any potential trade the Bulls make before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.”
This is the second time Ball’s name has come up in trade rumors in the span of a week. Long-time NBA insider Marc Stein and his newsletter, “The Stein Line,” also reported similar findings.
“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.”
Nothing is for sure, but it’s looking more and more like the Bulls could be willing to use Ball in a trade this year.
