The Chicago Bulls dealt Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, flipping the former UCLA guard for forward Isaac Okoro. The deal ended a four-year stint with the Bulls, which was overshadowed by Ball’s problems staying healthy.
Even with Ball’s struggles staying on the court, Bulls fans can’t feel too bad about the original trade to acquire Ball from the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021. The Bulls gave up guard Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a second round pick that eventually became another UCLA Bruin, center Adem Bona.
In total, Ball played 70 games with the Bulls. While that’s a dishearteningly low number, Ball did achieve some success as a Bull. Ball averaged 10.3 points and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 40% from the field and 39% from three.
It’s hard to ignore Ball’s knee issues from his time with the Bulls, plus the failed surgeries to fix his meniscus tear, but the former UCLA star did work all the way back, starting against the Kings this January for the first time since 2022.
“He got sidelined for the past two seasons due to battling knee injuries. A neck injury to guard Coby White opened a spot for Ball in the Bulls’ starting five on Sunday. Ball played in a season-high 26 minutes, scoring 15 points on 5-9 shooting for the field. Ball’s addition to the starting lineup wasn’t enough for the Bulls to hold off the Kings, who held on for 124-119 win. Injuries have been a constant battle for Ball in his NBA career. He has appeared in just 272 games in eight NBA seasons,” UCLA Wire wrote back in January.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Lonzo Ball persevered through injury hell as a Chicago Bull, now joins a title contender
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
