Chicago Bulls not expecting Lonzo Ball to play next season
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Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is expected to miss the NBA season to focus on getting his knee to full strength following surgery.
PHOTO: AFP
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CHICAGO – If, and not when, could be the new general guideline for Lonzo Ball suiting up for the Chicago Bulls for the new National Basketball Association (NBA) season.
The point guard underwent his third knee surgery in 14 months in March and the ligament replacement procedure casts doubt over the 25-year-old’s future on court.
Bulls team president Arturas Karnisovas said Ball would likely miss the entire 2023-24 season to focus on getting his knee to full strength, adding: “If he comes back, it would be great.”
“I think last month he got off the crutches. He’s recovering, doing his rehab, everything is going well,” Karnisovas said.
“Going into the off-season, I think our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season. And he’s going to continue on his recovery. We’re just going to treat this off-season (like it is) and getting ready for the season that he’s not going to be back.”
Karnisovas also said that he still hoped to see Ball, who signed a four-year, US$80 million (S$108.2 million) deal with Chicago in 2021, on court for the Bulls “eventually”.
“But I do not think he’s going to be back next year,” he added.
Ball last played in a game in January 2022. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 35 starts in his first season with Chicago in 2021-22.
The Bulls are targeting point guards and perimeter shooters in free agency to compensate for a second straight season without Ball, Karnisovas said.
They could apply to the NBA for a “disabled player provision”, recovering a portion of the salary cap space Ball would occupy without filling a jersey or active roster spot. He carries a US$20.5 million cap hit in 2023-24, per Spotrac.
Drafted with the No. 2 overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017, Ball has averaged 11.9 points, 6.2 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 252 games (239 starts) with the Lakers, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Bulls.
In a statement released by the team after his third procedure in March, Ball said it had been a “frustrating process”.
His first arthroscopic surgery in January 2022 was expected to sideline him for up to eight weeks.
But as pain continued, he had another procedure in September 2022. And in February, the Bulls ruled him out for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. REUTERS, AFP
