Lonzo Ball is the newest member of the Chicago Bulls. Ball had a semi-successful stint in New Orleans for the past two seasons, where he developed greatly. Ball was initially sent to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade, along with Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, and some draft picks. Playing alongside Ingram and Zion Williamson, Ball developed his game greatly, especially after his initial stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.
But Lonzo still decided to leave the Pelicans in order to take the next step in his career. The Bulls received Lonzo Ball as part of a sign-and-trade deal in which they sent Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoransky to New Orleans. But it appears the deal may be under investigation right now.
Reports emerged this weekend that the NBA was investigating potential tampering claims in the Lonzo Ball trade deal. There is a belief that the Bulls made illegal contact with Lonzo before free agency opened on 6 PM Monday last week. The NBA has made very strict rules for tampering over the last few years, in an effort to keep teams at parity in terms of quality players not leaving.
If there is evidence of tampering found on the part of the Bulls, the penalties could be severe, and the deal could even be reversed. And one former executive believes that the NBA will make an example out of the Bulls if that is the case.
Former Brooklyn Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks uploaded a video to his Instagram discussing the Lonzo Ball situation. He believes that the Bulls will be used by the NBA to set an example for the rest of the league to show the harm of tampering. He questioned why the Chicago Bulls were so hasty in carrying out their business (Around the 2-minute mark), and why they could not have waited till free agency opened to pull the trigger. This deal could set the Bulls back severely if evidence of Tampering is found.
“You couldn’t wait until 6:30 or 6:45. That can’t happen. You have to be smarter.”
Now the Bulls and Lonzo will have to wait and see what the investigation finds with regards to tampering claims. But given how immediate the announcement was from insiders about the deal, there is a real possibility that illegal contact was made. And if that is the case, then the NBA could use the Bulls to set an example for the rest of the league in order to deter this behavior in the future.
