5:22pm: In a press release, the Bulls have added further details on what Ball’s procedure will entail, revealing that the guard will receive a cartilage transplant in his left knee.
“My main focus has been on returning to the court getting to a place where I can rejoin my teammates,” Ball was quoted as saying in the team statement. “This has been a frustrating process, but I’m confident these next steps are the best path forward.”
3:29pm: Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will undergo left knee surgery, his third in the past 14 months. The surgery is expected to cause him to miss “most, if not all,” of next season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
There have been concerns about Ball’s ability to resume playing, but there is optimism that another surgery could help him revive his career, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Charania reported a similar sentiment.
The Bulls’ PR department confirmed the news that Ball will have a third left knee surgery, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Johnson hears from a source that a return timeline won’t be known until the surgery has been performed, and it could be “nebulous.”
Wojnarowski reported last week that a third left knee surgery was being considered. Ball’s initial injury was a torn meniscus on January 14, 2022. He was originally projected to miss just a few weeks following his first knee surgery that month, but he experienced multiple complications which caused him to miss the remainder of last season.
Ball underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure last September to clear up lingering issues with his knee. He has made incremental progress since then, but he still can’t run, cut or jump without feeling pain in the knee.
The 25-year-old did not play at all in 2022/23 and was officially ruled out for the remainder of the season last month.
It has been a brutal process for both Ball and the Bulls, who were playing terrific basketball before their starting point guard went down last season. At the time of Ball’s injury last January, Chicago had a 27-13 record. They finished last season 19-23 without Ball and have gone 31-37 this season, currently holding the No. 11 seed in the East.
Ball came to Chicago in a sign-and-trade deal with New Orleans in the summer of 2021. He played strong defense and was a dynamic open-court play-maker during his 35 games (34.6 MPG) with the Bulls last season, averaging 13.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.8 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .423/.423/.750 shooting.
Ball still has two years left on his contract with the Bulls beyond this season. He’s owed a guaranteed $20.5MM salary next season, with a $21.4MM player option for 2024/25.
He should do like Thompson did and just take the entire years off and slowly comeback in 2024/25 season. Thompson is finally playing like himself but it took a long time.
He’s Done ……. See how easy it can all go away ……. Once upon a Time
link to youtu.be
All from a meniscus tear???
Does anyone know if the Bulls had insurance to cover these wages?
They did, but how does that matter to anyone but the accounting department? Doesn’t change the cap hit, doesn’t and shouldn’t void his contract
He’s done
Sad for him
That’s rough when they tell you it’ll be summer of 2024 when you can play again. Maybe.
Ball is done
As a Bulls fan I think I can confidently say I’m giving up on next year, teams run like the Oakland Athletics, Reinsdorf is for sure crying and yelling at AK but won’t fire him because that would cost money and won’t let AK replace Lonzo in any meaningful way, give up on next year
Trade DeRozan to Knicks …..
Quickley, Toppin, Mitch and a future #1 pick .
Toppin n Quickley can start ….. all three can start. Vucevic is leaving. Mitch is signed.
Would love Derozan on the Knicks but he only has one year left on his deal. That’s a lot to give up for only one year of him.
He’ll resign. NY would love a closer line him. Still got a few yrs. He can cement his legacy playing at MSG. And he won’t break the bank. He’s exactly the kind of scorer we need.
Probably would only get 2 of those assets max and one being Obi
DeRozen would’ve been awesome in the 90’s, but he’s not the guy to trade for. He still has others on the team and they still can’t win. Same with the Spurs. Same with the Raptors. And who would play center for the Knicks? And DeRozen would only cut into Grimes/RJ/Hart time while we downgrade the BU PG from IQ to McBride. And losing Toppin basically leaves us with Randle as the only tall guy at the 4 or 5 worth 20+ minutes per game.
Bulls would have been better off signing Kris Dunn to two ten day contracts!
Tough break for the Ball boys..
How deflated does Lonzo feel right now?
smh — compounded on the fact that we did nothing at the deadline. frustrated isnt the word
Better believe Lonzo is going to pick up that option on his contract for 2024/25. No way he’ll ever see $21.4 million on a contract again.
Good S&T 4 NOLA
He will be back for his next contract, take the money and run
Still waiting on the shoes I ordered 3-4 years ago
Lol
Well that’s a mistake…
Waiting on shoes that were never manufactured…
I guess he’ll be exercising that player option in 24-25
bulls are done lol, time to blow it up. Karnisovas and Reinsdorf but failed to advance the rebuild into contention. Awful draft picks from them and poor money management and trades has led the bulls to purgatory. Were not bad enough to get good picks, were only good enough to sneak in. Its time to blow it up, trade everybody.
This guy makes Ben Simmons and Anthony Davis look like Iron Man.
Doesn’t sound good. I’ve heard of good results with cartilage transplants, but not from a professional athlete this age. Hopefully, he’ll be the first. Little choice.
That father is behind a lot of the blame here…
He fed and trained his boys, gave them ridiculous hype and now both are on the shelf more often than on the floor…
Sure it could be just bad genes, father Ball had too many instances of “my way is different so it will work”…
His career is over and the Bulls need to rebuild.
Move LaVine and DD this summer and start rebuilding.
Only plays in contract years.