Lonzo Ball Thread (UPDATE: Bulls Offer Sato + 2nd Round picks)

[DroseReturnChi]

Pelicans should still trade Lonzo if they remain hesitant at throwing 4/75 or whatever big money at him. Even the slightest hesitation (from Pelicans) at giving any contract to Lonzo warrants a trade. They're risking losing Lonzo without getting anything in return?

They are not going to trade him if all they get is a 2nd. Would you trade Lauri for a 2nd same logic wise??

[Kukoc-Lauri]

Thad Young, Luke Kornet and two second round picks for Lonzo Ball. Would Pelicans decline such lucrattive offer for a guy, whom they dont want to pay this offseason.

[Axl Rose]

Lonzo is only of interest if he comes very very cheap. I'd be willing to give him a look, but i don't see a guard with his flaws being a long term answer.

[The Box Office]

Pelicans should still trade Lonzo if they remain hesitant at throwing 4/75 or whatever big money at him. Even the slightest hesitation (from Pelicans) at giving any contract to Lonzo warrants a trade. They're risking losing Lonzo without getting anything in return?

They are not going to trade him if all they get is a 2nd. Would you trade Lauri for a 2nd same logic wise??

I don't know why you brought up Lauri. Why? I didn't even say anything about him in my post.

[Magic beans]

Lonzo is only of interest if he comes very very cheap. I'd be willing to give him a look, but i don't see a guard with his flaws being a long term answer.

I held the same opinion on lonzo, but he’s been balling out for the Pels lately, put in some great performances,while not playing his natural position. His biggest flaw being his poor shooting percentages. Has other valuable qualities, ie defensive/ rebounding etc.

Lonzo would elevate this roster on both sides of the floor. Or do we stand pat with satoransky/arcidiacono etc?

[weneeda2guard]

I think Lonzo would be a good fit but his impending free agency makes it tricky on what we should give up for him. Might just have to pursue him in free agency.

But to be honest I feel smaller deals for Brunson from Dallas or seeing when wizards will wave the white flag and go after lopez and ish Smith might help us just as much.

[DuckIII]

Lonzo is only of interest if he comes very very cheap. I'd be willing to give him a look, but i don't see a guard with his flaws being a long term answer.

Depends on how you define cheap. Obviously I would not give up our current first rounder. But I’d definitely give up a first with staggered protections.

Is giving up a talented player who you probably won’t re-sign at market value considered cheap? Because if the Pels called today and offered Lauri I would take the deal so fast your head would spin.

I’m not sure people have fully evaluated Lonzo’s career. He’s still getting better every year. Specifically this year his TS is up to 55% and he’s shooting .374 from 3 on high volume. His dreaded FT% is up to 75%. He’s got a great attitude by all accounts, and he’s 23 years old. The guy completely rebuilt his shooting form after reaching the NBA as a much hyped high lottery pick. How many guys have the work ethic and ego to do that? It’s a great sign.

Add his defense, playmaking and size and what is there not to love about his fit here?

The Bulls should be aggressively pursuing this guy. And the Pels want to trade him. It’s a perfect scenario.

I don’t understand the reluctance. I have to assume it’s subjective. Because objectively it could hardly be better.

[Jcool0]

Lonzo is only of interest if he comes very very cheap. I'd be willing to give him a look, but i don't see a guard with his flaws being a long term answer.

I held the same opinion on lonzo, but he’s been balling out for the Pels lately, put in some great performances,while not playing his natural position. His biggest flaw being his poor shooting percentages. Has other valuable qualities, ie defensive/ rebounding etc.

Lonzo would elevate this roster on both sides of the floor. Or do we stand pat with satoransky/arcidiacono etc?

So he does nothing for a better NO roster... But would elevate a worse roster in Chicago? Interesting...

[DuckIII]

I think Lonzo would be a good fit but his impending free agency makes it tricky on what we should give up for him. Might just have to pursue him in free agency

We have our own impending free agent that, if NO is interested, pretty much resolves that issue in my view. Don’t wait to compete for him in free agency. Go get him and remove all chance.

[DuckIII]

Lonzo is only of interest if he comes very very cheap. I'd be willing to give him a look, but i don't see a guard with his flaws being a long term answer.

I held the same opinion on lonzo, but he’s been balling out for the Pels lately, put in some great performances,while not playing his natural position. His biggest flaw being his poor shooting percentages. Has other valuable qualities, ie defensive/ rebounding etc.

Lonzo would elevate this roster on both sides of the floor. Or do we stand pat with satoransky/arcidiacono etc?

So he does nothing for a better NO roster... But would elevate a worse roster in Chicago? Interesting...

That actually would not be uncommon at all. Fit matters. Plus he’s having a good year for the Pels regardless.

[Indomitable]

People love to overpay.

He fits us well.

Teams who would be interested besides us.

LAC
Maybe Toronto
Maybe New York

He does help anyone else as much.

[gobullschi]

I held the same opinion on lonzo, but he’s been balling out for the Pels lately, put in some great performances,while not playing his natural position. His biggest flaw being his poor shooting percentages. Has other valuable qualities, ie defensive/ rebounding etc.

Lonzo would elevate this roster on both sides of the floor. Or do we stand pat with satoransky/arcidiacono etc?

So he does nothing for a better NO roster... But would elevate a worse roster in Chicago? Interesting...

That actually would not be uncommon at all. Fit matters. Plus he’s having a good year for the Pels regardless.

I never understood why New Orleans would want to trade Lonzo because he seems like a great fit with Zion. After watching them play last night, it’s clear they need a perimeter player than can shoot and create off the dribble.

They should be targeting Bradley Beal with a package of Lonzo + a bunch of draft picks. No idea why they would want anyone on the Bulls roster besides LaVine.

[DuckIII]

gobullschi, I assume it’s financial and they see roster redundancy. I agree if they view Zo as a path to a blockbuster for a star, we aren’t the team for them.

[pipfan]

I have always liked Ball. I would do Sato and a top 15 protected 1st (2 years, then 2 2nds). Top 15, just in case we sneak into the playoffs as an 8 seed.

NO gets an ok vet in Sato and a probable pick, and they don't have to pay big $ to Ball when they have Hart, NAW, Lewis and Bledsoe already under contract for next year (and Reddick this year). Sato can back up Ingram at the 3

[Jcool0]

I held the same opinion on lonzo, but he’s been balling out for the Pels lately, put in some great performances,while not playing his natural position. His biggest flaw being his poor shooting percentages. Has other valuable qualities, ie defensive/ rebounding etc.

Lonzo would elevate this roster on both sides of the floor. Or do we stand pat with satoransky/arcidiacono etc?

So he does nothing for a better NO roster... But would elevate a worse roster in Chicago? Interesting...

That actually would not be uncommon at all. Fit matters. Plus he’s having a good year for the Pels regardless.

Pretty good year? Uh based on what exactly?

[Jcool0]

So he does nothing for a better NO roster... But would elevate a worse roster in Chicago? Interesting...

That actually would not be uncommon at all. Fit matters. Plus he’s having a good year for the Pels regardless.

I never understood why New Orleans would want to trade Lonzo because he seems like a great fit with Zion. After watching them play last night, it’s clear they need a perimeter player than can shoot and create off the dribble.

They should be targeting Bradley Beal with a package of Lonzo + a bunch of draft picks. No idea why they would want anyone on the Bulls roster besides LaVine.

If NO started a trade offer for Beal with Lonzo they get hung up on.

[MrSparkle]

In all my years of following NBA, unless the player is a no-brainer max star (Luka, Lebron, etc.) - there is NO advantage to owning RFA rights.

Player/agent party feels insulted at anything at or below market value. Outside teams have nothing to lose putting in a high bid. RFA team has to either overpay or match an overpay... or let the player walk, or in a rare and best case scenario, collect some nice s&t asset, but you do generally take back junk salary.

Is Lonzo worth $20-25m? IMHO, if you think so, then you just make the bid in the summer. If NOP matches, then they are nuts, because besides his ceiling being murky, he’s also a bad fit for Zion and Ingram. Those guys need elite 3P spacing from both guard spots, not play makers — period.

There’s just no way I’d overpay for Lonzo this deadline. Hutch and Lauri would be my best offer, and I’d think long and hard. If Lauri finishes this season on the injured list with dips in numbers, he might end up a $12m bargain.

[DuckIII]

So he does nothing for a better NO roster... But would elevate a worse roster in Chicago? Interesting...

That actually would not be uncommon at all. Fit matters. Plus he’s having a good year for the Pels regardless.

Pretty good year? Uh based on what exactly?

His performance. He’s having the best season of his career statistically and has shown improvement in every single area of concern.

How is he not having a good year?

[DASMACKDOWN]

I am not high on Lonzo at all.

Im being real. Lonzo is basically a younger and better defensive version of Sato. Im not giving up anything of substance for that. Remember, there is a reason why they would want to trade him in the first place. He isn't all that great.

Im not sure why people have in their mind that Lonzo is going to be dropping dimes left and right. He wont be doing anything new. It would be about the same as Sato gets.

Remember folks he currently avg 13.9pts 4.4reh 4.7 asts That is with nothing but shooters around him and Zion should be a walking assist. So that is food for thought.

If we were to trade him for minimal assets, like a 2nd and filler, then why not. But how much are you willing to pay to keep Lonzo Ball?

[gobullschi]

That actually would not be uncommon at all. Fit matters. Plus he’s having a good year for the Pels regardless.

I never understood why New Orleans would want to trade Lonzo because he seems like a great fit with Zion. After watching them play last night, it’s clear they need a perimeter player than can shoot and create off the dribble.

They should be targeting Bradley Beal with a package of Lonzo + a bunch of draft picks. No idea why they would want anyone on the Bulls roster besides LaVine.

If NO started a trade offer for Beal with Lonzo they get hung up on.

Obviously. New Orleans has a TON of draft picks. Lonzo helps sell tickets until they use those picks.