The Chicago Bulls are one of the front-running teams expected to offer Lonzo Ball a contract this offseason, which according to sources will not be matched by the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s no question the Bulls need a point guard. Between Coby White‘s inability to facilitate and guard his matchups, and Tomas Satoransky‘s inefficiencies with scoring the basketball, something has to change in the Bulls’ backcourt.
The Bulls need someone who can run the offense. Zach LaVine averaged the most assists per game on the team with 4.9 per game — but that value ranked 37th in the league amongst players.
The team could also use some perimeter defense. Even though they rank in the top-10 teams for the least amount of points from three per game and opposing team three-point percentage, the Bulls point guards had trouble defending their matchups on most nights.
Lonzo Ball can help the Bulls in the areas where they need help.
* denotes season career-high
This past season, Ball improved drastically after starting off the season really rough from behind the arc. He finished the season averaging 14.6 points*, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. He shot 41.4 percent* from the field and 37.8 percent* from behind the arc. He also dramatically increased his percentage from the line, shooting 78.2 percent from the charity stripe this past season, improving from his previous season-best of 56.6 percent.
Ball’s ability to facilitate others is a much-needed area for the Bulls. This would give the Bulls the opportunity to use LaVine, Williams, and White off-ball so Ball can make plays for them.
Ball’s defense is also an added bonus to his game. He has maintained a positive defensive box plus-minus every year of his four-year career and has recorded at least 1.5 steals per game in every season too.
The Bulls ranked below average in the NBA in transition, scoring just 11.5 points per game on fast breaks to rank 19th in the NBA. With Ball’s ability to steal the ball on defense and throw dimes like Justin Fields, *wink* surely Ball will be an excellent fit on both sides of the floor.
