Lonzo Ball Trade Rumors: Bulls Declined Offer with 1st-Round Pick Before NBA Deadline

The Chicago Bulls declined a trade offer for guard Lonzo Ball that included a first-round pick, according to The Athletic's John Hollinger.

Chicago also would've assumed "future money" of an undisclosed value.

The Bulls held onto Ball through the Feb. 6 deadline and signed him to a two-year extension worth $20 million.

The trade deadline cemented the fact Chicago is in a rebuild. Zach LaVine, the team's best player, went to the Sacramento Kings in return for a pretty lackluster return. The Bulls got back their 2025 first-round pick along with center Zach Collins, wing Kevin Huerter and guard Tre Jones.

Turning down the opportunity to add another first-rounder would seemingly be counterproductive given the organization's direction.

Not all first-round picks carry equal weight, though. A first-rounder with heavy protections or one likely to convey well outside of the lottery is unlikely to help accelerate Chicago's path back to contention that much.

As long as Ball can stay healthy, which is admittedly a big if given his history of knee injuries, you'd expect that kind of offer to be on the table again at some point down the road. If anything, his two-year contract boosted his trade value because it's a pretty team-friendly deal.

Paying $10 million a season is a reasonable price for a guard who's averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 assists in 21.6 minutes per game this year.

Broadly speaking, Bulls fans have been given a number of reasons to question the front office and raise concerns about Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley are the right people to steer the ship.

Hearing that Chicago turned down a first-round pick for Ball needs some more context, though, because it may have been a sensible call.