Chicago Bulls reach agreement with Lonzo Ball on four-year, $85 million deal

The Chicago Bulls hope they found their point guard of the present and future.

Restricted free agent Lonzo Ball agreed to four-year, $85 million deal with the Bulls, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the team officially announces the deal.

Instead of matching the deal and retaining Ball, the New Orleans Pelicans will finalize a sign-and-trade deal with the Bulls, who will send Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a second-round pick to the Pelicans.

Ball spent the past two seasons with the Pelicans, averaging 14.6 points, 5.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 41.4% from the field and 37.8% on 3-pointers. The Lakers drafted Ball with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft but traded him to New Orleans in that multi-player, blockbuster deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019.

In his two seasons with New Orleans, Ball improved his 3-point shooting and just 23 years old, the 6-6 Ball has a promising future.

The Bulls will feature a lineup that includes Ball, Zach LaVine and Nik Vucevic.

The Bulls were 31-41 in 2020-21 in Billy Donovan’s first season with the team as head coach.

Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lonzo Ball agrees to four-year, $85 million deal with the Chicago Bulls