Chicago Bulls Scamper For Help With Lonzo Ball To Miss 2023-24 NBA Season

KEY POINTS

The Bulls apply for a disabled player exception with Lonzo Ball set to miss the 2023-24 season
The Bulls are expected to skim the free-agent market for guards that can fit in their allocated budget
They need to re-evaluate Ball who continuously deals with health issues

The Chicago Bulls need to fill a huge void at the point guard position, especially with Lonzo Ball set to miss the 2023-24 NBA season.

The 25-year-old guard, who last played in January 2022, reportedly underwent a cartilage transplant back in March.

It was the third procedure on his knee after he was ruled out for the 2022-23 season due to knee pains.

With Ball out of commission, the Bulls have applied for a disabled player exception to hopefully resolve their hole at the guard position according to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Should the NBA approve the request, the Bulls can get a player who would earn about half of the 6-foot-6 guard's salary.

However, Chicago will only be allowed to trade or claim a player who is in the final year of their contract or sign a free agent to a one-year deal.

As things stand now, the Bulls will have to make do with the guards on the roster. That list includes Coby White, Jevon Carter and Alex Caruso.

White came to terms with the Bulls on a three-year, $40 million deal, while Carter agreed to a three-year deal worth $20 million.

Aside from these three guards, the Bulls could also opt to bring back Ayo Dosunmu who is currently a restricted free agent.

Since joining the Bulls, the second overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft has played in only 25 games averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 34.6 minutes of action.

After getting selected by the Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft, the former UCLA Bruin also saw action for the New Orleans Pelicans for two seasons.

Given his knee issues and health struggles, it will be interesting how long the patience of the Bulls will last.

Ball owns a four-year, $80 million contract that is set to expire after the 2024-25 season. The final year of this deal is a player option worth $21.4 million.

While Ball has shown to be a reliable player on the court when healthy, the Bulls may have to take a second look if hanging on to the injury-prone point guard is worth it.