When Lonzo Ball signed a team-friendly two-year extension with the Bulls in February, he knew that he’d probably be in a different uniform before it expired, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. A $10MM annual salary with a club option in 2026/27 made Ball extremely attractive to contenders, and the Cavaliers were the first to pounce, sending Isaac Okoro to Chicago in a July trade.
Ball is happy to be with a contender in Cleveland, and he believes both teams benefited from the deal.
“I think teams trade to try to get better, so Chicago did what was best for them, and I think Cleveland did what they thought was best for them,” Ball said. “So all I can control is where I’m at and who I’m playing for, and that’s the Cavs right now. Go out there and give them my all.”
Ball completed a remarkable comeback last season, appearing in 35 games after missing two and a half years due to recurring knee issues. Cowley expects the Cavs to be cautious with him — limiting his minutes and not using him on both nights of back-to-backs — in order to keep him healthy for the playoffs.
Ball is still a beloved figure in Chicago, and he received a tribute video when Cleveland visited the United Center on Thursday.
“Just thankful, man,” he said. “I made a lot of good relationships here on and off the court. Loved the city of Chicago, and, as you can see, the fans still rock with me, so a lot of love to them. But coaches, man, even my teammates, it’s always great seeing them and hope the best for them moving forward, for sure.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Re-signing Tre Jones was an offseason priority after acquiring him from San Antonio in a February trade, Cowley adds in a separate story. Cowley believes the addition of Jones made it easier for the Bulls to part with Ball. “He just kind of makes things happen,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He finds guys on cuts, back cuts. He gets to the basket. He’s very calm, got a good IQ, and, yeah, I kind of said it last year — he’s got that ‘it’ factor. He just makes plays.”
- After five mostly frustrating seasons with the team, Patrick Williams recognizes the need to improve, per Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. He focused on dropping weight during the summer with a high-cardio workout routine that included running through sand dunes in Los Angeles. He hopes the increased mobility will make him more versatile on defense. “I always wanted to be strong and fit, be able to guard fours, guard fives, guard ones, guard twos, guard threes,” Williams said. “That was kind of the mindfulness of it — not wanting to be too slim where I can’t guard different positions, but also being slim enough where my joints and stuff aren’t just aching after games. Not just taking that constant beating and pounding with however many pounds of weight driving on them each and every day. (These are) things that over time you just become mindful of after you deal with a few injuries.”
- Coby White remains sidelined with a calf strain he suffered in August, Poe states in another piece. There’s still hope that he might be ready for the October 16 preseason finale and the October 22 regular season opener, but Donovan said the team is being careful not to bring him back too early due to the strain of playing in an up-tempo offense.
24 wins at best.
I think you are waaaaay underestimating there…Tre Jones is underrated. Coby White and Vucevic are in contract years, and Giddey was really good down the stretch in important games. I’d start those 4 with Okoro, Dosunmu, and maybe eventually Buzelis, and that’s a good lineup. Lots of playmaking and shooting, albeit with a lack of rim protection, but I’d put them in the 42-45 win area because Donovan is also a great coach.
definitely Buzelis.
Gabe,
I like the optimism, but it needs to be spent elsewhere. We have no stretch 4, no defensive center, half a player in each Patrick Williams and Issac Okoro makes one player for us. We might be the worst rebounding team in the league this year. This is going to be a disaster and I’m all for it.
Rewarding Donovan with an extension should qualify immediately for brain damage.
But let’s talk about that Derrick Rose retirement jersey night though????
Given how crowded the EC field looks, it does seem that the Bulls could be on the outside looking in but should be on the fringes of the race… but it also wouldn’t surprise me if they gained traction and got the 7th or 8th spot. I’m gonna say 40 wins.
Nice to see that Pat got his running practice in in the dunes. Since that’s all he does on the court too. Just run back and forth and move the ball . TSnell 2.0
Imagine waiting for a positive impact from P-Will after wasting the first 5 YEARS of his career…and he was even given $90 mil to stay here!
Another failure from the AKME era of the Bulls. Should’ve gotten rid of him a couple years ago when we knew he wasn’t worth the #4 pick.
Williams is getting in shape to more quickly run to the bank to cash those huge checks before he’s run out of the league.
Isn’t where you’re at and who you’re playing for something you *can’t* control in this situation?
You could quit. Why would Ball complain about the Bulls? They gave him big money to watch their games and even gave a one legged man with a dead guys knee a 2 year extension for no reason. By all means complain if you have the balls. Pun intended.