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

[Jcool0]

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?

13.9 ppg on 42% shooting. 4.7 assists. 14.6 PER. Is that a good year? You would hate him if he was doing that on the Bulls.

[coldfish]

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?

Lonzo would help the defense and hurt the offense. I have no idea why people would be even slightly interested in this.

[League Circles]

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.

He's just not good enough at any one thing, other than defense, to project as a long term above average starter at a talent filled position in this league. Thus, you don't want to waste time for a few months trying to evaluate him (or win more games than desired) when you could just do the same thing with Coby. Lonzo's numbers are up a bit this year in a small sample, but in 3 years his shooting and scoring has been abysmal and his playmaking hasn't been special it seems outside of some highlight reel assists. Hard pass.

[MGB8]

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?

Lonzo would help the defense and hurt the offense. I have no idea why people would be even slightly interested in this.

Could Lonzo defend the SF position fairly regularly? If so, then maybe he wouldn't hurt the offense because you'd play him as the "3" on defense and in the current role that Val is playing, with LaVine still being the primary offensive option, and then between Coby and other players as your second / third options... Just a thought, and one different than the usual thought of bringing in Lonzo as a starting PG to push Coby to the bench.

[DuckIII]

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?

13.9 ppg on 42% shooting. 4.7 assists. 14.6 PER. Is that a good year? You would hate him if he was doing that on the Bulls.

When you add in the trend lines and his .374 3pt shooting on high volume, .549 TS%, massively improved FT% to 75%, and his defense, yes I definitely would say that. Not to mention the import of his value relative to our current players.

[League Circles]

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?

13.9 ppg on 42% shooting. 4.7 assists. 14.6 PER. Is that a good year? You would hate him if he was doing that on the Bulls.

When you add in the trend lines and his .374 3pt shooting on high volume, .549 TS%, massively improved FT% to 75%, and his defense, yes I definitely would say that. Not to mention the import of his value relative to our current players.

Honest question - are teams still playing ultra far off of him or are they playing him tighter. Because my perception has been that the biggest problem with his shooting hasn't been the raw numbers but because of how he kills spacing because no one respects his shot.

[Ice Man]

If he keeps shooting well he's gonna make it. I don't see him becoming an outright star. His passing is solid but not like his younger brother's, and he's not able to take opponents off the dribble. But if he hits his shots he certainly can become a championship quality player.

[FriedRise]

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?

This is kinda where I am too. I know we've all been saying that we need a playmaker, but I'm not convinced that we don't have anyone who can playmake on this team. We've obviously been trying to get Coby to learn the point guard position - which has been very up and down - and I think that's why the issue has been so glaring.

If we're about to commit assets to get a PG in Chicago, I'd rather that we first stop/postpone the Coby the PG experiment first and then try some lineups with guys like Sato, Arch, Temple, Val, etc. as the primary ballhandler with Coby and Zach playing off-ball. Until we try that, it doesn't makes a whole lot of sense to spend a bunch of assets to get a PG only for us to continue to get Coby to learn how to be a point guard.

[Jcool0]

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?

13.9 ppg on 42% shooting. 4.7 assists. 14.6 PER. Is that a good year? You would hate him if he was doing that on the Bulls.

When you add in the trend lines and his .374 3pt shooting on high volume, .549 TS%, massively improved FT% to 75%, and his defense, yes I definitely would say that. Not to mention the import of his value relative to our current players.

FWIW he is hitting 73% of his FT but still just averaging 1.1 FTA, he just had a 9 games stretch were he attempted 3 FTs.

[Evil_Headband]

Could someone summarize why the Pelicans want to trade him? I just don't get it.

[Jcool0]

Could someone summarize why the Pelicans want to trade him? I just don't get it.

Why would they want to keep a marginal starter?

[MrSparkle]

Could someone summarize why the Pelicans want to trade him? I just don't get it.

Well, seeing as they clogged the books with Adams and Bledsoe, maybe they’re intent on riding out Zion’s rookie salary in mediocrity. But I don’t know - I’d be annoyed as a Pelicans fan (worst NBA name ever- feel awkward saying it), resigning Lonzo to 15-25m (who knows) knowing you’ve got a non-shooting superstar on rookie salary and almost $60m on 3 mediocre starters who don’t shoot well.

Interesting that between Zion NOP, Simmons PHI, Lebron CLE, Rose CHI, Luka DAL ... all started in a good place, but had a lot of mediocre players on large salaries clog the books. All hit a wall and underperformed by the time franchise star got his max.

Only OKC bucked the trend, but they of course had the craziest 1-2-3 draft ever. And they still “screwed up.”

[Red8911]

Could someone summarize why the Pelicans want to trade him? I just don't get it.

Why would they keep him? They need more shooting.

[fleet]

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?

Lonzo would help the defense and hurt the offense. I have no idea why people would be even slightly interested in this.

Some people still like Coby, who is having a worse year on offense, and leagues worse defense. Granted, a younger player, but Coby is really struggling. This year at least, Lonzo is an upgrade across the board

[VolumePoster]

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?

Lonzo would help the defense and hurt the offense. I have no idea why people would be even slightly interested in this.

Some people still like Coby, who is having a worse year on offense, and leagues worse defense. Granted, a younger player, but Coby is really struggling. This year at least, Lonzo is an upgrade across the board

For me the case for lonzo is about fit and upside.

Fit because he is a high level defender at our defensive position of greatest need. He is also a credible ball handler, which is a significant need As well.

Upside because when he was allowed to initiate offense and create he was pretty effective. The Zo of LAL couldnt shoot but averaged 8 assists as a rookie. NOP is playing him off the ball because of Ingrams evolution, but I highly doubt that Zo forgot how to create.

Right now I believe Lauri is better and more valuable. I would need more value, as in a pick or a young player like Hayes, to make the swap.

[fleet]

Lonzo would help the defense and hurt the offense. I have no idea why people would be even slightly interested in this.

Some people still like Coby, who is having a worse year on offense, and leagues worse defense. Granted, a younger player, but Coby is really struggling. This year at least, Lonzo is an upgrade across the board

Fit and upside.

Fit because he is a high level defender at our defensive position of greatest need and is a credible ball handler, which is our greatest need.

Upside because when he was allowed to initiate offense and create he was pretty effective. The Zo of LAL couldnt shoot but averaged 8 assists as a rookie. NOP is playing him off the ball because of Ingrams evolution but I highly double Zo forgot how to create.

Ever since they put Lonzo on the block he is legit good in all phases. He had an injury early. Wouldn't be surprised if it had an effect he is now getting over. Unless he likes being on the block. Also it wouldn't be a surprise to me if the Pels are having second thoughts. At least on acceptable return. And they were said to want real players before all this happened. These offers that Bulls fans are "willing" to give up are laughable.

[ImSlower]

...as a Pelicans fan (worst NBA name ever- feel awkward saying it) ...

I recall a lot of dissention when their name was chosen. I don't see the problem, to be honest. There are plenty of non-aggressive animals as mascots out there. It's the state bird of Louisiana. One of my only memories of a childhood visit to NO was seeing a pelican on the lake. I wish they could have stolen the Jazz back from Utah, sure! But it makes more sense as a team name than the Raptors, who only got that because kids my age thought Jurassic park was super cool. Or any number of incidental team names out there, really. The Penguins got their name because an old arena sort of looked like an igloo. Now that's just dumb.

[sco]

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.

But we want to keep Thad, and trade Lauri...don't we?

[MrSparkle]

...as a Pelicans fan (worst NBA name ever- feel awkward saying it) ...

I recall a lot of dissention when their name was chosen. I don't see the problem, to be honest. There are plenty of non-aggressive animals as mascots out there. It's the state bird of Louisiana. One of my only memories of a childhood visit to NO was seeing a pelican on the lake. I wish they could have stolen the Jazz back from Utah, sure! But it makes more sense as a team name than the Raptors, who only got that because kids my age thought Jurassic park was super cool. Or any number of incidental team names out there, really. The Penguins got their name because an old arena sort of looked like an igloo. Now that's just dumb.

Ha - well I kind of appeal to the side of avoiding the obvious.

I think Utah Jazz is more interesting than NO Jazz. LA Lakers vs Minny. It’s fun(ny) having a story behind the name of which the root has nothing to do with its present.

I feel the Raptors name is a home-run. For one thing, Jurassic Park was indeed the craze of the early 90s, the purple Barney colors made no sense, and it’s still a cool name for a team.

Pelicans are interesting predator birds, but... these are sports, not nature documentaries. You need some toughness in the name, and I know Pelicans are no push-over, but it just sounds soft, not to mention 3 syllables is too much for a team unless it has a catchy short (Tampa Bucs, Knickerbockers, etc.). Seeing as we’re 32 teams in, it’s the more license to go kooky imo: from names proposed, I liked the NO Skulls or NO Gulf. New Orleans has all kinds of culture and history plus mythology - seems they went the easiest route ever (the state bird).

[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.

But we want to keep Thad, and trade Lauri...don't we?

i personally don't want that. Imo Lauri is much better player than Young today and with lot of more upside in the league comparing to 32 yo Young. Young salary for 22 is 14,5 mil, i would rather pay couple of milions more for Lauri and PWill needs playing time on both forwards spots. Ideally i would trade for Lonzo, put White to be scorer or combo from the bench and play Lauri,Williams and draft pick 21 Green/Kumminga/Barnes/J.Johnson/Z.Williams/K.Johnson/Moody on 2/3 or 3/4 positions.