After two tumultuous stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, Lonzo Ball apparently found his place in Chicago, the team he joined the last offseason to create an interesting squad with DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Alex Caruso.
Ball showed good things this season, becoming a solid player for the six-time NBA champions thanks to his basketball IQ and defense. However, it seems like his tenure in Windy City could be coming to an end after Ayo Dosunmu’s good season, with the team opening a spot for the young player.
Heavy’s Sean Deveney and analyst Steven Bulpett discussed this situation, explaining that the return of other guards diminished Ayo’s minutes on the court, but that could change if Chicago decides to move Lonzo.
“Look at Ayo, he is a guy who intrigues the hell out of me,” Bulpett told Deveney. “You look at him at this point and you have to say, what is he going to be with seasoning, with experience, with being able to focus his basketball intellect, develop his game and make even better decisions. This guy can play. If he stays on this track, then the bigger concern is going to be stretching out DeMar DeRozan’s window as long as possible to take advantage of a guy like Ayo.”
“It leaves some interesting questions with Lonzo,” Deveney suggested. “You’re going to have an opportunity, if you want to shop him, you can bring back something of real value. There were a lot of teams that wanted him last summer and that is not going to change. Now you’ve got him under contract, you can make a swap, that would be worth exploring for a lot of teams.”
Moreover, Bulpett suggested that the Los Angeles Clippers could be a good destination for Lonzo. They have the right assets to unlock negotiations with the Bulls and add a solid point guard to pair up with their star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
“The Clippers, though, if they wanted to make a push for him, they have the pieces,” Bulpett mentions. “They could build a package around Luke Kennard and Zubac, that kind of addresses the Bulls’ big problems with shooting and defense at the rim and it allows the Bulls to look for a trade that sends out Vucevic as well. The Clippers really like Zubac though, so it would be tough.”
The Clippers have faced many challenges this season, especially the absences of Leonard and George. Now, with the latter back on the court, the team could make some noise in the postseason, but we need to wait and see if he has the same impact as last season. If not, the Bulls could be looking to add another piece to their roster and Lonzo looks like a very good candidate.
