NEWSLETTER
Finally!
Late Sunday night, the Chicago Bulls officially announced the sign-and-trade acquisition of Lonzo Ball. The 23-year-old point guard will come to Chicago on a fresh four-year $85 million deal in exchange for Tomas Satornasky, Garrett Temple, a 2024 second-round pick, and cash considerations.
OFFICIAL. pic.twitter.com/pbsRRjFu0f
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) August 9, 2021
Welcome to Chicago, @ZO2_! pic.twitter.com/kg5vALa6Vf
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) August 9, 2021
Earlier this weekend we learned the deal had not yet been pushed through by the league office thanks to reporting from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Romana Shelburne. Additionally, the two reported that the final sign-and-trade could still look different than what was originally reported. This news felt all the more interesting Sunday morning when a report surfaced that the Pelicans had a newfound interest in power forward Lauri Markkanen. However, according to the team’s announcement of Twitter, the only tweak to the original deal was the addition of cash considerations (he’ll be missed).
While Ball is finally a Bull, the drama around this acquisition will not stop here. We learned on Saturday that the NBA is investigating this deal for possible tampering violations. If either side is found guilty, they could be handed a hefty fine and front office suspensions. The possibility of voiding contracts is also a punishment permissible by the league office, but the official announcement from the Bulls and Pelicans should take that already slim outcome entirely off the table. *Sigh of relief*
Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have not yet released a comment on the Ball sign-and-trade, but Pelicans executive VP David Griffin did release his own statement.
Quotes from Pelicans exec VP David Griffin on Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and Lonzo Ball from team’s release on trade: pic.twitter.com/oaKkTsyLBY
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) August 9, 2021
With Ball now pushed through, one has to imagine the Bulls will soon also acknowledge the additions of DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Tony Bradley. Not to mention, this could possibly signal that a new Lauri Markkanen destination is on the horizon, as having him finally off the books would incentives the team to make the rest of their signings official.
But, most importantly, we can officially call the man Lonzo … Bull!
