Lonzo Ball has picked up his $21.4 million player option with the Chicago Bulls for the 24-25 season.

Ball hasn't played since January 2022 and it is uncertain if he will play again.

Ball signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Bulls during the 2021 offseason.

Alex Caruso has been named the winner of the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award.  Caruso, a 2022-23 NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, has won the NBA Hustle Award for the first time. 

Presented annually since the 2016-17 season, the NBA Hustle Award honors a player who makes the effort plays that do not often appear in the traditional box score but help determine team success. Hustle statistics include deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs.

In the 2023-24 regular season, Caruso led the NBA in deflections per game (3.7) and finished second in total deflections (265). He also ranked seventh in the league in both total loose balls recovered (73) and total contested three-point field goal attempts (221).  Caruso drew 12 charges, making him one of 18 players to reach or surpass that total.

Last season was a nightmare for Zach LaVine. The Chicago Bulls star guard played in only 25 games. LaVine initially missed time with knee soreness, before a right foot injury knocked him out for the season in mid-January.

The good news is that LaVine is ahead of schedule in rehabbing from what has been termed a non-union Jones fracture. The All-Star guard had a piece of bone removed from his right foot in order to promote recovery. The Bulls put a four- to six-month timeline on LaVine's recovery. He's now progressing towards on-court work at the three-month mark, which should allow LaVine to have a normal offseason training regiment.