Ball (knee) could return for Wednesday's preseason game against the Timberwolves, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic reports.
The Bulls are reportedly targeting this return date, barring any setbacks. Ball has been ramping up his activity in recent practices, but the Bulls wouldn't bring him back if they weren't confident in the health of his knee. Even if he's cleared, Ball will likely face heavy restrictions.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Not active for shootaround Saturday
Rotowire
Ball is not expected to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Grizzlies, and he was held out of Saturday's shootaround due to knee soreness, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Ball has dealt with a litany of knee injuries throughout his career, and he has yet to make a return to game action since January of 2022. The 26-year-old was absent from shootaround, but coach Billy Donovan said it should not be viewed as a setback in his recovery, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. Ball is expected to make his return during the preseason, and he will likely be good to go for Opening Night.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Expects to return in preseason
Rotowire
Ball (knee) said Friday he expects to play in two of the Bulls' final three preseason games, Will Gottlieb of AllCHGO.com reports.
Ball is expected to make his long-awaited return to game action before Opening Night. The 26-year-old has dealt with a litany of knee injuries that have held him out since January of 2022, but he's been active throughout training camp. Ball won't play Saturday versus the Grizzlies, meaning his next chance to suit up will come Monday against the Bucks.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Unlikely to play Saturday
Rotowire
Ball (knee) is not likely to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Grizzlies, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports.
While Ball will probably not make his long awaited return Saturday, head coach Billy Donovan said that Ball is still working on a slow buildup to game readiness, meaning he may come back soon. If held out Saturday, his next chance to suit up will be Monday against Milwaukee.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Won't play Tuesday
Rotowire
Ball (knee) won't play in Tuesday's preseason game against the Cavaliers, Chuck Swirsky of the Bulls Radio Network reports.
Ball has been scrimmaging at recent practices, but he's still not quite ready for his first game action since January of 2022. Given the lengthy layoff, Ball will certainly have major restrictions when he is cleared to play, which could come Saturday versus Memphis.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Iffy for Tuesday
Rotowire
Ball (knee) is questionable to play in Tuesday's preseason game against the Cavaliers, Will Gottlieb of AllCHGO.com reports.
Ball took contact in Sunday's practice and continues to trend in the right direction. Coach Billy Donovan said he's still trying to ramp the guard up slowly, but he didn't rule Ball out from making an appearance Tuesday. All signs point to Ball returning to the court in the very near future.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Active during Friday's practice
Rotowire
Ball (knee) was active for Friday's practice and participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Ball is expected to make his return to game action on Opening Night, and coach Billy Donovan said Ball felt good and performed well against contact Friday. The 26-year-old has not played since January of 2022, but his return to contact bodes well for his comeback.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Setback-free in camp
Rotowire
Ball (knee) is participating in training camp with no setbacks, with a continued target of Opening Night for a return to action, Evan Sidery of Forbes.com reports.
Ball appears to be on track to suit up Oct. 23 when the Bulls travel to New Orleans to kick off the 2024-25 season. While two days of training camp can yield premature optimism, Ball continuing to ramp up only bodes well for returning to the court for the first time since Jan. 14, 2022.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Targeting Opening Night
Rotowire
Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas said Monday that he's hoping to have Ball (knee) cleared to play for Opening Night, Cody Westerlund of 670TheScore.com reports.
The Bulls are planning to bring Ball along slowly in training camp, and he may not do live 5-on-5 scrimmages as a precaution. It's worth noting, however, that Ball has played 5-on-5 in pickup settings. There have been several positive updates on Ball's health in recent weeks which has the Bulls excited for obvious reasons. According to the point guard, he's anticipating restrictions for this season, including not playing in both games of back-to-back sets.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Playing full-contact 5-on-5
Rotowire
The Bulls confirmed Wednesday that Ball (knee) has started playing in full-contact five-on-five scrimmages and hasn't faced any setbacks, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
This is a massive hurdle for Ball to clear. The 2017 No. 2 overall pick hasn't played in an NBA game since Jan. 14, 2022 and has undergone three surgeries on his left knee during that stretch, including an experimental cartilage transplant for a new meniscus. Cowley notes that no professional athlete has ever returned to high-level competition after having that surgery. Ball picked up his $21.4 million player option for 2024-25, so the Bulls would certainly be incentivized to play him if he's healthy. However, it's unclear how he'll fit into Chicago's plans after the team traded for Josh Giddey this offseason.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Progressing well
Rotowire
Ball (knee) has been cleared to do "pretty much everything on the floor" and is on track to participate in 5-on-5 drills in August, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas provided an update on Ball's status after the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft and was optimistic Ball could be ready in time for training camp. Ball hasn't played since January of 2022 due to left knee issues that have required three surgeries, but he's been taking part in basketball activities and could be healthy enough to play in the 2024-25 season. The 26-year-old picked up his $21.4 million player option for the upcoming season.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Picks up option for 2024-25
Rotowire
Ball (knee) has picked up the $21.4 million player option in his contract for the 2024-25 season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Ball continues to work toward a potential comeback before he hits the open market next summer, as he signed a four-year, $80 million free-agent deal in 2021, so it was a no-brainer for him to pick up this option. Ball hasn't logged minutes at the NBA level since Jan. 2022, but both the player and the organization are hopeful he'll be able to step on the hardwood at some point during the 2024-25 campaign.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Hopeful to play in 2024-25
Rotowire
There is optimism that Ball (knee) will be able to play next season, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
Ball hasn't logged any NBA minutes since Jan. 2022 due to a string of knee injuries. While the 26-year-old guard has yet to play 5-on-5 or participate in any contract drills, there is still optimism that he will return to action in 2024-25. Ball has a $21.4 million player option for next season.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Begins running
Rotowire
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said Friday that Ball (knee) has begun cutting, sprinting and jumping in controlled, non-contact situations, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
The Bulls have exercised extreme caution with Ball's prolonged recovery from his third knee procedure since January 2021. Though he is merely running in a controlled setting, the activity seems to be a big step for the point guard in his recovery process. While he still presumably has several more hurdles to clear, the UCLA product is hoping to return at some point during the 2024-25 campaign.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Making progress, still no sprinting
Rotowire
Ball (knee) isn't experiencing pain during his day-to-day activities, which include a lot of mobility work, but he hasn't resumed sprinting yet, Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
Ball was expected to return to running in January, but all parties involved continue to proceed with caution. "Definitely doing much better in rehab," Ball said. "It's been a long process, obviously, longer than I'd like it to be. It's definitely cut out in stages and I keep checking off the boxes I'm supposed to and getting better each week." Coach Billy Donovan had similar sentiments: "He's doing different things on the court. He hasn't done any sprinting yet. I think everybody medically is pleased with the way it's progressing. Some of these movements he's doing now caused him pain before and aren't causing him pain. I know there was talk in January of him sprinting. I don't want to sit here and say he's behind schedule. I don't think that's the case because it's going well." Ball hasn't played since Jan. 2021, but he's staying positive and eyeing a return in 2024-25.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Positive update on knee
Rotowire
Ball (knee) is expected to return to running in January, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports. "The pain that he was experiencing has been eliminated," head coach Billy Donovan said Thursday.
While Poe notes that the Bulls still don't expect Ball to return this season, this is nevertheless an encouraging development for the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, who hasn't played since midway through the 2021-22 campaign. Early in his career, Ball dealt with a handful of lower-body injuries, most notably a cartilage issue in his knee, which was addressed via a transplant procedure in March 2023. The plan is for Ball to accelerate his rehab within the next month, at which point the Bulls may have a better indication as to whether he'll be able to resume his NBA career. Back in October, Ball said at the Bulls' media day that he "definitely" plans to play again. The former UCLA standout has a $21.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season that he'll likely exercise this summer.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Still hopeful to resume career
Rotowire
Ball (knee) said Monday that he's about halfway through the rehab process for the cartilage transplant surgery he underwent in March and is optimistic that he'll be able to continue his career, despite having already been ruled out for the 2023-24 season, ESPN.com reports. "I definitely plan on playing again," Ball said at the Bulls' media day. "After surgery three, I feel like it's going well so far -- no setbacks. So for me, it's just keep my head up, just keep doing the work."
Ball's last NBA appearance came Jan. 14, 2022, and though he's set to miss a second consecutive season after undergoing a third operation on his left knee in a little more than a year, he's not yet ready to abandon hope on playing again. The 25-year-old said he plans on splitting the upcoming season between Chicago and Los Angeles while he continues his rehab program. Since Ball won't be regularly working out with the team, updates on where he stands in his recovery could be sparse in the months to come.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Confirms he'll miss 2023-24 season
Rotowire
Ball (knee) said Monday during his appearance on the "From the Point by Trae Young" podcast that he'll miss the 2023-24 season, Jamal Collier of ESPN.com reports.
Ball's statement isn't a surprise, as Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas had previously said in June that he expected the veteran point guard to miss a second consecutive season. However, Ball said during his podcast appearance that he finally feels "on track" in his recovery process after undergoing cartilage transplant surgery in March. The 25-year-old still has a lengthy recovery process ahead of him, but it's encouraging to hear a slightly positive update after a year marred by setbacks.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Not expected to play in 2023-24
Rotowire
Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said Friday that he does not anticipate Ball (knee) playing during the 2023-24 season, Jamal Collier of ESPN reports.
The most recent update from the Bulls came back in March, when the team announced that Ball would undergo another surgery on his left knee -- his third procedure on the same knee in roughly 14 months. Ball missed the entire 2022-23 campaign after playing in only 35 games the previous season. His last appearance for the Bulls came in January of 2022 before he was shut down midseason after posting 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.1 made threes (42.3% 3Pt) per game. While Ball is only 25, his NBA career appears to be in serious jeopardy. He remains under contract through 2023-24 and holds a player option for 2024-25.
... See More... See Less
Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Gets surgery Monday
Rotowire
Ball underwent cartilage transplant surgery on his left knee Monday, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed last week that Ball was set to undergo the third surgery on his problematic left knee in 14 months, with the latest one differing in nature from the prior two, which were arthroscopic procedures. Ball's cartilage transplant procedure is described as a relatively new innovation in sports medicine that's described as an alternative to a full knee replacement in order to better maintain the integrity of the knee joint. Given the limited history of athletes who have had the procedure, Ball is without a clear timeline for a return, but the Bulls are already preparing for the 25-year-old to miss most of the 2023-24 season. Both the Bulls and Ball are hoping that a full recovery from Monday's surgery will allow him to resume his career at some point, though it's unclear if he'll ever resemble the player he was before the knee issue first cropped up last January.
