Lonzo Ball made his strongest comments about his NBA future on Saturday, vowing that he’ll overcome his knee issues and eventually return to the league, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls guard was at Invest Fest in Atlanta to promote Big Baller Brand, but he also addressed the injury that will cause him to miss another full season.
“Life is not easy,” Ball told the gathering. “If you want to get the most out of it, you gotta put your best foot forward. If you’re going to get knocked down, you gotta get back up every time if you want to keep going. You can always quit and take the easy way out and pout and go to the side. But for me, if you’re trying to get to a place where I want to get to, you just gotta get back up, dust off and keep going. I’m going to play again.”
Ball sat out all of last season because of the knee and hasn’t played since midway through 2021/22. He underwent cartilage transplant surgery in March, and he and the team have said that he won’t be available for at least another year.
Chicago received a $10.23MM disabled player exception for Ball, but Johnson points out that it will be difficult for the team to use it. The Bulls are already close to the $165.3MM tax threshold, with Carlik Jones and Terry Taylor both holding non-guaranteed contracts. The team can’t exceed its $172.3MM hard cap.
Ball will make $20.5MM this season, and he has a $21.4MM player option for 2024/25. That decision is due by late June, but it’s virtually certain that he’ll pick it up considering his physical condition.
Also at Invest Fest, Ball addressed his dispute this week with ESPN host Stephen A. Smith. After Ball said on Trae Young‘s podcast that he expects to play again, Smith claimed that Ball isn’t even able to get out of a chair.
“The outside noise doesn’t bother me,” Ball said. “The Stephen A. thing, he has a wide platform. And to me, I just don’t appreciate when people put out fake news like that, especially someone of his stature that can touch a lot of people. For me, I know what I gotta do to get back. And I’m just on a path doing what I gotta do every day, taking it step-by-step. I don’t look too far ahead. I know in my near future that I will be back on the court for sure.”
Bulls trade Lonzo Ball Zach L and C Jones with a pick for Harden, Beverley and PJ Tucker
Yea, just like Chandler Parsons, Greg Oden, or Andrew Bynum. It’s a shame bc he was starting to look like a fringe AS in that Ben Simmons type of stat line but better bc of his shooting progression.
Yeah one day in the …. BIG3
Damn… beat me to it…
Would be nice to be such an optimist, but unfortunately I am not. I guess ‘play’ also could mean get b in the court as a shell of my former self.
For thoseaware Lonzo, Lonzo’s last surgery was very different than the previous two. He had surgery to REGROW cartilage, not simply repair. It is a relatively new type of surgery. There’s no real precedent to point to in order to base likelihood of success. So who knows? He very well could come back strong.
Would be a cool success story. Wish him luck. I hate seeing anyone have their career end so young due to injury.
Screw Stephen A. Smith. Dude is a blowhard loudmouth, just another Skip Bayless wannabe.
To me, he’s just as bad as Skip and I don’t quite understand why he seems to be exempt from criticism in the media (Simmons, Lowe, TNT crew) or amongst players (All the Smoke, 1 on 1s with Dame, etc.). Is it cause the Iverson interview?
Blame the people who give that clown the views and likes which keep him relevant. Without that, he would run out of oxygen in a hurry.
I often wonder why people aren’t more embarrassed when they fall for his shtick time and time again. I get it. He says ridiculous things that some people find funny or can’t help but comment on. The problem is none of it is genuine. It’s all manufactured garbage for the sake of $$$. Why debase ourselves supporting a figure like that? How can I find someone like that funny when I know he has such a clear agenda designed to elicit that very reaction?
Unfortunately, the SASs of the world aren’t just succeeding in sports. They’re succeeding everywhere. People just can’t help making the blowhards and liars of the world become richer and more powerful.
@SheaGoodbye
Well said. Your last paragraph covers it well. Stephen A. Smith is the equivalent of whiny ranty Mike Lupica before him; Steve Levy; from daytime TV…Morton Downey Jr., Jerry Springer, the many faces of Geraldo Rivera over generations; from the poltical “journalism” arena…Tucker Carlson, Candace Owen, Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham; from entertainment…Nick Cannon, the Kardashians and all reality television stars, Kanye, etc.
Unfortunately, people swallow this garbage up and worship these dirtbags who have found a way to capitalize off of saying stuff that they don’t even believe themselves, as they feed off suckers too damaged in their own lives to see these people for what they really are – professional trolls.
Why do you all pay attention to E!SPN and those E!SPN personalities in the first place? That network is trash television. Do they still use the tagline that tells it all – the worldwide leader in sports ENTERTAINMENT?
And the tag line is bad because?? How can they be the world wide leader in sports when they do not produce any…. SPORTS. It’s a television station bud. What do you think a television station’s main objective is? Truth and knowledge?
Big Baller Brand is still a thing?
Yup they prolly trolling sierra canyon ( thier backyard ) rn for customers
I thought that garbage went away years ago
Miracle if he makes it back. Nothing wrong with having a miracle. He will have lots to prove when he does come back. Be wise with the time.
There’s always the big 3…
He only plays in contract years.