Ball agrees to a two-year extension with the Bulls

The Chicago Bulls and point guard Lonzo Ball agreed to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday, rewarding the 27-year-old after he battled back from injuries that caused him to miss two seasons.

Ball is averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 assists per game in 30 games this season, after he was forced out of the previous two seasons due to multiple issues with his left knee. He underwent a cartilage and meniscus transplant in the knee last year after several procedures failed to fix his injury.

"I'm excited for him, because of the journey he's had to get back between the lines and playing. Obviously, give all the medical people a ton of credit for helping him get to that point," Chicago coach Billy Donovan said after Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I think he, really, always has felt pretty good about his situation here in Chicago, which I think is great. I think he's been a great inspiration to a lot of us."

Chicago played without Ball (left knee injury management) on Wednesday for the second game of back-to-back fixtures after beating Miami the night before.

Ball had previously played eight games in a row.

He played in 35 games in his first season with the Bulls in 2021-22 before the injuries sidelined him. He made his return in October.

Chicago reportedly had trade suitors for Ball, but the team decided to keep him, despite seemingly being in a rebuild after the trade of Zach LaVine to Sacramento over the weekend.

"We felt like he was an important piece of that, in terms of helping people," Donovan said of Ball's impact. "He's got a great IQ. He knows how to play, and I think anytime you have a point guard that's got that kind of IQ, he makes people around him better."

The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings for Sidy Cissoko and second-round draft picks in 2028 and 2029.

The Kings just acquired the 6-foot-6 Cissoko from San Antonio in the three-team deal that sent De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs and LaVine from Chicago to Sacramento. Now he's set to join a young, rebuilding Washington team that has the worst record in the NBA.

The 32-year-old Valanciunas is averaging 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds this season, despite playing a career-low 20.1 minutes per game.

It was a busy day for Washington, which is also trading Kyle Kuzma and Patrick Baldwin to Milwaukee for Khris Middleton and AJ Johnson, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement.

Elsewhere, multiple media outlets reported late on Wednesday that the New Orleans Pelicans have traded Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors for fellow forwards Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk.

New Orleans will also receive a first- and second-round pick in the reported deal, which came hours after the Pelicans lost 144-119 at Denver, and the Raptors fell 138-107 to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.

Ingram, 27, has been out for nearly two months with an ankle injury and has played only 18 games this season.

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