The NBA is a business, and it’s also a team sport. The Los Angeles Lakers have one of the best teams in the NBA, and the Chicago Bulls have a chance to repeat as champions in the 2018-2019 season. But which team will have the better player and make more money?
In his first season with the Lakers, Lonzo Ball averaged 10.5 points, 6.7 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game. That’s a pretty good start in his rookie season. Ball is already making $17.6 million this year, but he’s going to get paid in the future. Some reports say that he’ll be paid $19.1 million in 2019-20, and that’s just the beginning. Ball will only get richer and richer as he continues his professional career in the NBA, but will he be as good as his father, Magic Johnson?
At the end of the day, Ball is the NBA’s most sought-after free agent, and the Lakers will have to pay him if they want him. But, if the Lakers are serious about winning, they’ll be waiting to see how much he earns, and then they’ll make a decision on how much they can afford. The key to how much he’ll get will be what he can do for the team. In four years, he’ll be 34 — as old as Jordan was when he retired.. Read more about how much money did michael jordan make in his nba career and let us know what you think.
When free agency started on Monday night, a number of prominent NBA players found new homes, including Lonzo Ball, who will join the Chicago Bulls as part of a sign-and-trade deal with his now-former club, the New Orleans Pelicans. Ball should get along well with Zach LaVine, and he’ll be well compensated over the next four years. Ball will earn more money in Chicago over the next four seasons than Michael Jordan earned in his six NBA championship seasons with the Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls will pay Lonzo Ball $85 million over the next four years.
Ball was linked to a number of clubs as free agency approached, as few believed the Pelicans’ qualifying offer of $14.4 million would be enough to keep him in town, which it clearly wasn’t.
Ball was sent to the Bulls as part of a sign-and-trade deal, and he will earn $85 million over the next four years. Garrett Temple, Tomas Satoransky, and a future second-round selection will be sent to New Orleans in exchange. Ball’s pay averaged $8.23 million during the first four years of his career, but it has now risen to $21.25 million, making him the team’s second-highest-paid player behind only Nikola Vucevic.
Ball will earn more money with the Bulls in four seasons than Michael Jordan earned in his six championship seasons with the team.
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images; Lonzo Ball; Michael Jordan | Sean Gardner/Getty Images
We compared what Ball will earn in four seasons with the Bulls to what Jordan earned during his tenure in Chicago to get a sense of how inflated NBA wages have gotten. Keep in mind that we’re only interested in NBA salary, not endorsement money.
Ball will earn $85 million over the following four years, as previously stated. Jordan earned a total of $91,742,500 in 14 years in Chicago (Jerry Reinsdorf continued to pay MJ after his retirement from 1993 to 1995). Jordan earned a total of $76,880,000 in his six NBA championship seasons. And $63,280,000 of those totals came from MJ’s last two years in Chicago, which were his only two years in the NBA in which he earned more than $4 million.
Jordan earned an extra $2,030,000 with the Washington Wizards, bringing his total career earnings (on the court) to $93,772,500, implying that Ball will earn almost as much in the next four years as Jordan did in his entire career.
So that’s a lot of fun.
In the Windy City, he should fit right in.
Ball found himself in the same position with his previous two clubs. He was in charge of the offense as a pure point guard as a rookie with the Lakers in 2017-18. Ball, on the other hand, didn’t handle the ball as much after LeBron James was added to the equation.
With the Pelicans, everything proceeded the same way. In his first year in New Orleans, he was more of a true point guard, but he spent much of this season as an off-the-ball wing player as Zion Williamson spent more time at the point than he did as a rookie.
Ball can return to his natural role as a facilitator while still scoring when required with the Bulls. In 2020-21, Ball averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game, as well as career-highs in field goal percentage (.414), 3-point percentage (.378), and free throw % (.378). (.781). He also had a career-low turnover rate of 14.5 percent. His assists went down from 7.0 the previous season to 5.7 this season, but that number should increase now that he’ll be in charge of the Chicago attack.
Basketball Reference provided the stats, while Spotrac provided the contract information.
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For Lonzo Ball, the first time around in the NBA was a year too soon. The 2017 NBA draft saw the Los Angeles Lakers take a 6’6″ point guard with a high release and no 3-point shot, who averaged a mere 6 points per game in his one season with UCLA. In spite of these obvious flaws, Ball was taken No. 2 overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether he can improve on these numbers in the NBA remains to be seen, but he will have the opportunity this season to prove what he can do in the pros.. Read more about scottie pippen salary by year and let us know what you think.
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