MINNEAPOLIS — There were offers for Lonzo Ball — some that even led to serious discussions the last few days, according to a source — but Ball wanted to stay a Bull, ready and willing to endure the growing pains.
That’s why the Bulls signed him to a two-year, $20 million extension before their 127-108 loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday, not only to continue his feel-good comeback story from what could’ve been career-ending knee surgery but to act as a mentor during the rebuilding that’s underway.
His teammates found out at halftime and, to a man, called Ball and his story an inspiration.
“Guys are very happy for him,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “Guys have a certain respect and responsibility to step it up when he’s on the court because we know what he’s been through, we see how hard he competes every night. When you see that, you can’t help but try to match that and play hard for him.
“The way he plays, great team player, always tries to stay positive. You see him dive on the floor, fight for rebounds . . . you see that and what he’s been through, it just motivates you to play harder.”
Meanwhile, as far as a direction the organization is looking to decide upon, that already has been determined with the Zach LaVine trade and the urgency in which they were looking to move Vucevic. LaVine’s deal got done Sunday. He was traded to the Kings in a three-team move, but several Vucevic deals have fallen apart — not on the Bulls’ side, according to a source — leaving the team waiting to see if the market picks back up by the trade deadline Thursday afternoon.
The Sun-Times reported Tuesday that the Bulls were preparing to keep Vucevic the rest of the season, if need be, and revisit a possible trade in the offseason, but the situation remained fluid.
One team the Bulls can likely rule out is the Warriors, who were in serious talks about Vucevic until they felt the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes were beginning to lean in their favor. That mega-trade happened while the Bulls were playing against the Timberwolves. The Warriors landed Butler, then signed him to a reported two-year, $121 million extension.
Even if the Bulls can’t get another deal done by Thursday — Vucevic or any of the other players they’ve been discussing — coach Billy Donovan said to expect the product to “go backward before we go forward.”
Donovan talked with Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas before the loss to the Timberwolves, but all was quiet.
“There was nothing he gave me of urgency,” Donovan said. “I would imagine from probably now until the end of the trade deadline, there are things that will really pick up, and we’ll have conversations about that. That was my point [Tuesday]. As we try to get out from being stuck in the middle, there are just periods of time during the season that you can do that. This is one of them, but when this passes, we’ve probably got to wait until the summer, right? There are going to be iterations to this.
“It’s not like all of a sudden, ‘OK, there’s a new direction, rebuild, retool, whatever, starting over.’ There’s a process, and then you start to think about, ‘OK, Zach’s gone; do these guys fit into what we’re doing in the future?’ We’ve got to figure those things out. What are you getting back when you do move players?
“But I’m saying as it relates to this situation where we are trying to go into a new direction to get out of the middle, probably have to go backward before we go forward. I think we’re in the process of doing that. What other deals are out there? I’m not really sure because [Karnisovas] hasn’t mentioned anything to me of anything being close.”