Lonzo Ball Joining Knicks Could Benefit Sports Betting, Bulls Still Want Ball Too

The New York Knicks will have about $50 million in cap space this offseason and it’s believed that the orange and blue could target Lonzo Ball.

Ball would likely command about $20 Million per year and according to SNY Network’s Ian Begley, the Knicks could look to target Ball as a free agent or through a sign-and-trade with his current team, the New Orleans Pelicans.

New York City would be prime-time real estate for Ball especially with the growing sports betting community in the state of New York.

Sports betting is everywhere! New York’s biggest month earned 3.5 Million in revenue. It’s only set to climb even higher as the state prepares to live later this year.

New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed a bill that will bring mobile sports betting to the state.

According to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell: New York state senator Joe Addabbo estimates that first bets will come in before the end of 2021 and will be fully functional by the Super Bowl.

An October 2020 study from the American Gaming Association indicates that Americans legally bet an estimated $3 billion. The study also shares that sports betting revenue was up nationwide last year by 53.5 per cent year-over-year which added up to $237.5 million.

Ball’s agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports got LeBron James to LA and these days it’s all about championships and the upcoming Space Jam 2 movie which debuts later this week.

Imagine billboards with Lonzo Ball, his brother LaMelo Ball and their ever-present father, LaVar Ball in New York’s Times Square!

Not so fast. Another major market could have significant interest also.

Like the Knicks, the Chicago Bulls are believed to be in pursuit of Lonzo Ball as Bally Sports Network’s Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson noted via Twitter earlier this year.

The Bulls will have about $24 Million in functional cap space this summer.

Worth noting: The Bulls will have about $16.5 Million if they guarantee forward Thaddeus Young’s contract.

Quietly, Ball averaged a career year with the Pelicans during the 2020-21 NBA season. The UCLA product scored14.6 points with 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in just 31.8 minutes per game.

Many teams salivated over his upside and Scoop B also noted that the Knicks as well as the Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic also were looking to take a swing in landing Ball at the NBA’s trading deadline.

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