Lonzo Ball Exercises $21.4M Player Option for 2024-25 NBA Season

On Saturday, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball exercised his $21.4 million player option for the 2024-25 NBA season. Ball's player option also represents the final year of his four-year contract with the Bulls.

Lonzo Ball originally signed with the Chicago Bulls on Aug. 8, 2021 via a sign and trade transaction between the New Orleans Pelicans and Bulls. Ball played 35 regular-season games for the Bulls in the 2021-22 before his current knee injury that has kept Ball inactive on Bulls roster since Jan 15, 2022.

In the beginning, Ball appeared to be the catalyst for the new-look Bulls. With additions such as DeMar DeRozan entering the fold at the same time, the team looked poised to win with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic already on the roster. However, once Ball was injured, the team never looked the same, and still hasn't even in 2024. 

Ball has averaged 13 points, 5.1 assists, 5.4 total rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 35 regular season games as a member of the Chicago Bulls. By all measures, the expectation is for him to return for the 2024-25 season and play. If he is anything close to the 2021-22 version of himself, the Bulls might finally start playing the way they did to start the 2021-22 season.