NEWSLETTER
Arturas Karnisovas sat down to discuss his second-ever lottery selection, Matas Buzelis, on Wednesday night. But it didn’t take long for the conversation to steer in other directions.
Whether it be the future role for recent trade acquisition Josh Giddey or the Chicago Bulls’ looming contract decisions, the next few weeks will be filled with plenty of storylines. Karnisovas played coy when answering most questions about what rests ahead, but he did share a little bit of insight regarding one major topic.
Is Lonzo Ball Sticking Around?
Lonzo Ball’s health remains a significant question for the organization. Many have wondered if the Bulls would look to get off his contract this summer, especially considering his hefty $21.4 million salary. Karnisovas gave no indication this was the plan, however.
“It’s moving along. We don’t know what he’s going to look like in a month or two, so we’re just going to take it one step at a time. Hopefully, he’s going to be ready for training camp,” Karnisovas said during his post-draft media availability.
“He continues working. He comes here to workout, and he continues working in LA. We’re going to touch base next week. I think he’s going to be around the team also in Summer League.”
Those words make it sound like Karnisovas expects Lonzo Ball to be in the building come October. Is it possible he’s simply taking the political approach to this discussion? Absolutely. But Karnisovas did go on to say that Ball has been given the green light to do a lot of on-court work (emphasis mine):
“He’s cleared to do pretty much everything on the floor,” Karnisovas said. “So we continue to strengthen him. So, like I said, the next two months we’ll see what he looks like.”
This specific answer was in response to a question about Ball participating in 5-on-5 action come August. So while Karnisovas didn’t necessarily confirm that he would take that significant step in a little over a month, it undoubtedly sounds like that is still the plan.
The fact that the Bulls are continuing to take things slow is not a surprise. Ball hasn’t played since January of 2022. But to hear he’s been cleared for “pretty much everything” is noteworthy. It means that he really could be ramping up his workload at any point in the near future.
I also can’t help but wonder if the Bulls’ apparent pivot to a youth movement has made it easier for them to stomach keeping Ball around. They seemingly no longer need that cap room to re-sign or add win-now talent. Instead, they can welcome Lonzo Ball back and give him some room to attempt a genuine comeback. Then, if things shockingly go well, they may even have a trade chip on their hands.
Regardless, as we make sure to articulate in EVERY Lonzo Ball post, let’s take everything with a grain of salt. This guy is still trying to make a ridiculously tough comeback. We’re all rooting for him, but there is no telling how his body will hold up once he does try to ramp up to game speed (which, by the sound of it, could be soon).
