Bulls agree to sign-and-trade with Pelicans for Lonzo Ball

Share

It didn't take long for the Chicago Bulls to make waves upon the opening of the NBA's free agency window.

The Bulls and Lonzo Ball have agreed on a four-year, $85 million contract. In step with that agreement, the Bulls and Pelicans have agreed to the parameters of a sign-and-trade that will send Ball to Chicago and Tomáš Satoranský, Garrett Temple and a second-round pick to New Orleans:

Temple, per The Athletic's David Aldridge, will sign a three-year contract with the Pelicans, with the first two seasons guaranteed at $5 million annually. Satoranský's $10 million salary for the 2021-22 season became fully guaranteed Monday afternoon.

The Bulls, meanwhile, add a talented two-way guard (that they have coveted since the run-up to the 2021 trade deadline) to their starting back court. In his age-23 season with the Pelicans, Ball averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals while building on improved shooting results by canning 37.8 percent of their 3-point attempts.

Don't rule out more deck-shuffling from Artūras Karnišovas and Co., either. ESPN's Brian Windhorst linked the Bulls and DeMar DeRozan in a potential double sign-and-trade for Lauri Markkanen before free-agent negotiations opened on Monday, which remains feasible, albeit complex. Karnišovas surely has other ideas up his sleeve too.

As of the Ball deal, the Bulls remain over-the-cap because of Markkanen's cap hold. Where they go from here remains to be seen, but they certainly began free agency with a bang.

Click here to follow the Bulls Talk Podcast.

 

Contact Us