Lonzo Ball has confirmed he’ll miss the 2023/24 season, but the Bulls point guard expressed optimism that he’ll eventually overcome his knee issues and return to action, he said on the “From the Point by Trae Young podcast” (hat tip to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).
Ball underwent cartilage transplant surgery in March.
“I just had a really big surgery—hopefully, the last one I ever have to get. It’s a long process. I’m already out this whole next season,” Ball said. “When I first got hurt, we didn’t really know what it was. I was seeing all type of different doctors and stuff. I was just kind of going up and down. That was really hard for me because I just didn’t know what the next day was going to be like. At least now, I got the surgery. We got a plan moving forward. We’ve been on plan. I’m on track.”
Chicago has already been granted a disabled player exception worth $10.23MM due to Ball’s inability to play in 2023/24.
We have more on the Bulls:
- While many observers believe the Bulls’ current core group has a limited ceiling, general manager Marc Eversley says the front office has faith in the roster they’ve assembled. “I think for us as a front office, how we see our ceiling may be different than others,” he told Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “And the way we have operated is we’re going to operate this with our beliefs. We’ve all been to different places. We’ve seen what success looks like. We can’t run this operation based on what people may think the outcome may be. We trust each other.”
- In the same interview, Eversley said they’d like to work out another contract agreement with DeMar DeRozan, who is heading into his walk year. “I would love DeMar to be part of this program long term. Let’s see how that plays out and what that looks like going forward,” he said. “When those conversations take place, we’ll speak about that more when that happens. But we hope Deebo’s back. He’s been an integral part of this program’s success. We hope he is here long term.” DeRozan will remain extension-eligible through next June 30.
- Eversley also appeared on the Bulls Talk Podcast and hinted that the front office is taking a wait-and-see approach regarding power forward Patrick Williams‘ future, according to Johnson. Williams is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. “He has shown flashes over the first three years. I want to see him show more instances of flashes, more consistent,” Eversley said. “He’s got it in him. A lot of that comes with growth off of the court. And I can tell you he’s starting to grow. He’s starting to get it. It’s starting to click. And when he puts it together—and he will put it together—we might have something special.”
“But we hope deebos back, he’s been an integral part of this programs success” the fact this front office claims this has been a success is such a delusion or flat out lie, Bulls goin nowhere stop watching, stop goin to games, stop believing anything is gettin better until the team is sold
The only place the Bulls are going ‘going forward” to as Eversley likes to say( as if not going forward is even an option) is to rebuild when someone finally comes to their senses. I’d fire the GM for speaking such utter nonsense in public, but I have a feeling he’s just following the company script. The while organization needs to be tore apart.
PatWill isn’t the guy who they think he is. He’s probably not going to be a 20 point per game scorer. He’s not going to be all defensive first team. He’s a good 3 and D forward, he’s young and trying to get better and the bulls suck.
I think on the right team as the 4th option with real stars and on a side winning games he would learn so much more and be viewed as so much better. Like for example compare him to Grant Williams. I’d say Pat is a better shooter and he’s a better defender, he just just didn’t have the opportunity to develop under the Celtics coaching staff and play with guys like Smart Brown Tatum Horford and so on.
Hope he has another decent season and manages to find a move elsewhere and really get better while still getting paid.
Not Having Ball as we know killed this team. Carter us a pass first PG. We shall see!
Yeah, Ball was the perfect compliment to the rest of this roster. He helped everyone be put in a position to succeed and play to their strengths, and we saw the results with Ball in the lineup.
The Bulls were actually in first place in the East, I repeat FIRST PLACE with Lonzo Ball…There isn’t one single organization that could have predicted Ball would have to miss this amount of time, and with him it really looked like the start of a really good team..
They obviously have J.Carter now, so we shall see what kind of impact he can make, alongside Torrey Craig, but I think the Bulls may fair a little better than most people expect them to.
Exactly right. The Bulls were going in the right direction. Can’t control injuries. Just bad luck. Last season the Bulls finished the season strong. In the play-in game at Miami with inside 3 minutes the Bulls had a 3 point lead. Obviously, the Bulls needed to have a couple of good possessions after that but didn’t.
Ball with the Bulls is the ultimate example of just how much fit matters to winning. He filled in all their needs perfectly. Defense? He’s 6’6″ with a 6’9″ wingspan, shutting down drives and making good contests. Shooting? 42% from 3. Playmaking? Solid, makes all the obvious plays with the occasional spectacular move. Ball dominance? Not really, leaves plenty of room for DeMar and LaVine to operate and gets Vuc involved. He didn’t need to be some world-beater. He just did exactly what the Bulls needed.
Carter can hopefully give them a similar amount of juice, fit-wise. I still don’t like P-Will at the 4. They really need a bigger, stronger 4 to take up some minutes, because he’s just not big enough to cover everything they need.
Agreed. Would have been good if somehow the Bulls could have acquired Christian Wood.
I’d… be hesitant to add Wood to this team. He’s not some world-ending defensive liability, but he’s not good either. You kind of have to play him next to an elite defender like Anthony Davis or Jarrod Vanderbilt to play him consistently.
Time to retool…. Ball could be finished. I wouldn’t count on him.
DeM DeR to the Knicks ….. Quickley can right the ship …. Plus picks.
Nah, Quickley not > Carter / White combo honestly. DeMar for Robinson and picks maybe, they need some beef up front, rebounding and an enforcer type.
This program was doomed from the start… Relying on Lonzo to ve the glue that made the whole thing work was a risk that backfired…
Demars old PWills ascending, wrong priorities on signings by this incompetent front office.
Messing up like they did with Lauri and Wendell.
What morons.
Glad to see Lonzo’s video of doing nothing by the pool but getting paid millions. Guys living it up in Cali and getting paid millions. What a great teammmate, unfortunate he is too busy to travel with the team during the season.