NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bulls officially announced in March that Lonzo Ball would undergo his third knee surgery in 14 months.
Expected to be the point guard of the future, Ball originally suffered a torn meniscus in January of 2022 after playing just 35 games with the franchise. Every step of the way he failed to progress efficiently in his rehab, ultimately leading to two additional surgeries. And the third – a cartilage transplant – has officially put his entire career in jeopardy.
While Arturas Karnisovas didn’t go as far as saying the Ball’s playing days were over, he did clarify that the organization does not have any hope of Ball returning this season. Unlike last year, the full expectation will be that the Bulls will not have their starting point guard for the foreseeable future.
“He’s recovering nicely. I think last month he got off the crutches and he’s recovering. Doing his rehab. Everything is going well,” Karnisovas said after Thursday night’s 2023 NBA Draft. “Going into the offseason, I think our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season, and he will continue on his recover … But we’re going to treat this offseason that he’s not going to be back this season.”
When presented with a question later about whether the team would ever consider stretching and waiving Ball, Karnisovas quickly said no. But he did leave the door open for the team to apply for a disabled player exception, which would help return some of what Ball is owed for the 2023-24 NBA season. You can listen to his full comments here.
At the end of the day, I’m just relieved the front office isn’t giving fans any kind of false hope. The situation has been as messy as it has been sad, and all that matters right now is the future of Lonzo Ball as a human being and not a basketball player.
As for how the team may finally address the Ball-sized hole at point guard, I guess we’ll just have to wait for free agency. Karnisovas stressed that he and his front office know that additions need to be made.
