NFL
By: Stephen Garner
Wasting no time, as soon as the NBA’s free agency period began the Bulls got the playmaker they so desperately coveted.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball is landing on a four-year, $85 million contract with Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade agreement, his agent and @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 2, 2021
After an attempt to attain him at the 2021 trade deadline, thwarted by a steep asking price from New Orleans, the Bulls re-upped their efforts and made amends. They did so at a much cheaper cost as they’ve found the perfect point guard for this current rendition.
I spoke on the play-making prowess of Ball and what he could bring to the Bulls at the deadline below.
Though it never came to fruition at that specific time, they would address it with their next opportunity.
This is big-time for Chicago, as they’ve had their bouts with decision-making over the past handful of seasons which had direct implications for some time.
Regarding undertones, this was loud in the fact that the Bulls were able to make it happen. They executed within the very first 30 seconds and did so without giving up much of anything either.
What do the Bulls get in signing Lonzo Ball?
The 2nd overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft has established himself as one of the up-and-coming talents at lead guard in the league.
Last season, he averaged 14.6 PPG, 5.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.5 SPG on a career-best 55.1 TS%.
After Williamson and Ingram, Ball was third-best at +5.5 per 100 possessions last season (82nd percentile). They were nearly 4.5 points better offensively, and 1.1 points better defensively.
Offensively:
Lonzo Ball last season made more threes than:
Trae Young
Paul George
Bradley Beal
Khris Middleton
Devin Booker
Seth Curry
LeBron JamesHe averaged 14.6 PPG on 41/38/78%, all career-highs. pic.twitter.com/B2NGGI27eN
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 2, 2021
Versatility is the keyword here.
Someone who can set the table for the plethora of scorers the Bulls have will prove invaluable almost instantly.
For as great of a playmaker that Lonzo is, he also isn’t overbearing in dominating time of possession or usage rate. He’s more than fine with giving up the ball early, working off the ball as a timely cutter, or coming off of screens to shoot or score.
“Zo” now is properly placed as a fourth option alongside the likes of Lavine, Vucevic, and now DeRozan in the scoring pecking order, allowing him to run a point guard style which surely suits him best, less worried about shot creation and more about floor generalship.
Even more, this allows for the likes of LaVine, Vucevic, DeRozan and White to do what they are best at in putting the ball in the basket.
LaVine is not a bad playmaker, nor is DeRozan, and Vucevic is as good a playmaker as it gets in the frontcourt, but when you have players capable of scoring eruptions the likes of these three, as an organization you do all that you can to allow for them to focus solely on doing just that.
Lonzo will properly position them form peak effectiveness.
The other dynamic is in placing White as a sixth man, where he flourished his rookie season, will greatly supplement their roster. White can now operate not unlike how Jordan Clarkson (2020-2021 Sixth Man of the Year) does for Utah, focused on scoring and doing so versus second units, which is a scary sight. Having Caruso (as well as Dosunmu) to allow White to embrace his off-ball movement as well is going to be one helluva luxury.
Ball allows for this team to fully embrace the style of play their roster suggests, being pace and space with great tempo. This roster also, in turn, allows for him to display his offensive brilliance in its fullest capacity.
Hit ahead passes allowing for LaVine, DeRozan, Williams, Caruso, or White to attack defenses in transition will be as entertaining as ever.
Zo & Zach throwin oops 2 each other at the UC. HERE FOR IT❗️
— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) August 2, 2021
The synergy between Lonzo and LaVine (both in transition and in halfcourt sets) will be fun to see unfold as well. They both have a knack for timely and explosive cuts to the basket, so seeing them throw alley-oops to each other will be tantalizing.
The Bulls have shooters in LaVine, White, and Caruso to complement his drive and kick ability.
They then have Vucevic to screen and roll or pop, making for the most versatile and talented partner Ball will have been paired with for the screen game.
Ball is adept at the proverbial pocket pass, and Vucevic has great hands to go with even greater secondary playmaking ability and soft touch. This will be a staple for the Bulls’ offense.
Since being drafted, Zo has 40 games with 10+ assists in his career, this will be his first time being allowed to put his full wizardry and creativity on display.
Defensively:
Like a Swiss army knife, both at the point of attack or on the wing, he will raise both the floor and ceiling for this team on that end.
He tips a lot of passes, is great at trailing or fighting completely through screens, and playing disciplined defense. His presence will certainly make this middle-of-the-pack defense of last season slightly more formidable.
Finding efforts to combine with Lonzo’s on that end may be a task outside of the ever-pesky Caruso, but what they have in him is a sustained level of play to bank upon on that end.
Conclusion
In all, head coach Billy Donovan will have ample options when it comes to lineups that’ll cater to the pace each respective game asks for.
As I’m finishing this one, DeRozan’s sign and trade to the Bulls is being finalized. They’re adding players that will surely supplement their top eight rotation for the playoffs. They’ve also now signed Tony Bradley.
They were devoid of much viable playmaking or versatility outside of LaVine, who was already tasked with doing a great majority of the scoring and creation for them.
They now have compiled what will be a balanced attack, a sign for great things to come.
*All stats and information used come directly from basketball-reference.com or cleaningtheglass.com unless stated otherwise*
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