{"id":121926,"date":"2025-02-04T15:11:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T20:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=121926"},"modified":"2025-02-04T15:11:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T20:11:24","slug":"chicago-bulls-not-eager-move-top-trade-candidate-lonzo-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/04\/chicago-bulls-not-eager-move-top-trade-candidate-lonzo-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulls Are Not Eager to Move On From Top Trade Candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p>Just days before the NBA Trade Deadline, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/04\/time-for-the-fbi-to-investigate-the-chicago-bulls\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Chicago Bulls<\/a> already made a significant deal. After years of rumors, the team finally traded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lavinza01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach LaVine<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/03\/nba-trade-grades-wemby-gets-star-running-mate-while-kings-get-another-scorer\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Sacramento Kings<\/a> as part of the deal that sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/foxde01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">De&#8217;Aaron Fox<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/03\/aj-dybantsa-wembanyama-spurs-dream-now-impossible\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a>. In addition to LaVine, there are plenty of other Bulls who are potential trade candidates, especially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/balllo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lonzo Ball<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vucevni01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Vucevic<\/a>. While another trade could be in line for Chicago, do not expect the team to trade away all their potential candidates.<\/p>\n<p>According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bulls &#8220;have received trade interest&#8221; in Ball. However, the team is not eager to trade him. Additionally, they &#8220;are resistant&#8221; to buying him out as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Bulls have received trade interest in Lonzo Ball all season but sources tell <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSteinLine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TheSteinLine<\/a> that they have not been eager to trade him and are resistant to buying Ball out if he remains a Bull past Thursday&#8217;s deadline.<\/p>\n<p>More from <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JakeLFischer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@JakeLFischer<\/a> and me: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f3fN5f8S8s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/f3fN5f8S8s<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zzSECZCvpu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/zzSECZCvpu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSteinLine\/status\/1886857633891750098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Stein also said the Bulls have shown interest in re-signing Ball, who is in the midst of a contract year.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Bulls, I&#8217;m told, have even shown some interest in re-signing Lonzo Ball once his current contract expires. Ball is playing this season on an expiring $21.4 million deal.<\/p>\n<p>More from <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JakeLFischer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@JakeLFischer<\/a> and me: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f3fN5f8kiU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/f3fN5f8kiU<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7vfbeTES0F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/7vfbeTES0F<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSteinLine\/status\/1886858173593657514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Chicago Bulls Are Not Eager to Trade Lonzo Ball<\/h2>\n<h3>Former Team May Have Had Interest in Lonzo Ball Trade<\/h3>\n<p>Stein did not name any teams in particular who may have interest in Ball. However, there is one team who was linked to Ball earlier this season.<\/p>\n<p>According to The Athletic&#8217;s Jovan Buha, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/24\/los-angeles-lakers-pursuing-reunion-with-former-guard-lonzo-ball\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> may have the UCLA alum on their radar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Lonzo is someone that\u2019s going to be on their radar, and I think depending on the price if you could get him for a second or two seconds, I think that\u2019s an interesting swing, and also someone with that 6\u20196\u201d frame that could potentially I think be similar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownbr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruce Brown<\/a>, check a couple boxes,\u201d Buva said.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers, of course, drafted Ball with the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. He spent two seasons with the team before they traded him to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/31\/hawks-dont-need-brandon-ingram-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> in a package for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Davis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Given the Lakers&#8217; recent acquisition of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-04_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a>, it is unlikely they will pursue a Ball reunion.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>Despite missing most of November, Ball has been pretty healthy this season. The 27-year-old has appeared in 29 games and started eight of them. He still has yet to play more than 28 minutes in a game. However, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/02\/01\/chicago-bulls-lonzo-ball-nba-trade-deadline\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune<\/a>, LaVine could play without restriction by the end of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what happens, it is good to see Ball back on the court. While he has yet to revert to his pre-injury self, Ball is reminding everybody just how valuable he can be. The Bulls are unlikely to make any playoff noise this year. However, keeping Ball around for the long run could help them reach that point sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just days before the NBA Trade Deadline, the Chicago Bulls already made a significant deal. After years of rumors, the team finally traded Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings as part of the deal that sent De&#8217;Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. In addition to LaVine, there are plenty of other Bulls who are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4631,"featured_media":121928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,8,2,62,3,4721],"tags":[667],"class_list":["post-121926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bulls","category-featured","category-nba","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-lonzo-ball"],"modified_by":"Elie Deglaoui","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121942,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121926\/revisions\/121942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}