Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Active during Friday's practice
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Setback-free in camp
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Targeting Opening Night
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Playing full-contact 5-on-5
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Progressing well
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Picks up option for 2024-25
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Hopeful to play in 2024-25
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Begins running
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Making progress, still no sprinting
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Positive update on knee
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Still hopeful to resume career
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Confirms he'll miss 2023-24 season
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Not expected to play in 2023-24
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Gets surgery Monday
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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.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Could miss 2023-2024 season
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Ball will undergo a third procedure on his left knee -- a cartilage transplant -- and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2023-24 season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Ball only played 35 games in 2021-22 and has already been ruled out for the 2022-23 season due to a troublesome left knee. The Bulls hope the surgery will revive the 25-year-old point guard's career. When he's been on the floor, Ball is a productive fantasy player, averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 34.6 minutes across those 35 appearances for Chicago. This season, head coach Billy Donovan turned to a combination of Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso and Goran Dragic early to help fill the void, but lately, it's been a lot of Patrick Beverley following his acquisition from the buyout market. Bulls management may attempt to upgrade the position in the offseason, but their hands are a bit tied financially due to the contracts of Ball, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Nikola Vucevic is on an expiring contract, but an extension feels likely.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Likely to need third knee procedure
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Ball faces a "growing possibility" of requiring a third surgical procedure on his left knee, which would likely include an additional six months of rehab and recovery time, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Ball hasn't played in a game since Jan. 14, 2022 and was recently ruled out for the rest of the 2022-23 season after failing to make any significant progress in his recovery from the two procedures on his knee, which he underwent last January and last September. The 25-year-old point guard also had another arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the knee during the summer of 2018. Before deciding whether Ball will need another procedure, the player and his representatives will consult with knee specialists. Still, at this stage, sources tell Wojnarowski that the belief is that a third surgery in 14 months will give the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft his best chance to play again. Ball, who is set to enter the third year of the four-year, $80 million deal he inked with the Bulls in August 2021, will almost assuredly be out for at least the early part of the 2023-24 season if he opts for another surgery.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Expected to be shut down
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Ball (knee) is expected to be shut down for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Unfortunately, the writing has been on the wall for several months, as all indications are that Ball continues to battle pain and discomfort in his surgically repaired left knee. The guard underwent two procedures on the knee in 2022, the first of which ended his 2021-22 campaign after just 35 appearances. Entering this season, there was some hope that Ball would be able to rehab and return at some point, but now it looks as though the team will close the book on that possibility coming out of the All-Star break. Ball, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, is only 25 years old, but given the developments of the last calendar year, it's now fair to question whether he'll ever be able to recapture his status as one of the league's most promising two-way guards. Prior to being shut down in 2021-22, Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks while shooting a career-best 42.3 percent from three (3.1 3PM/G) for the season.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Update coming after break
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Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas said Saturday that Ball (knee) will have his status updated following the All-Star break, Brian Dulik of The Associated Press reports.
Chicago's upcoming update on Ball could provide final word once and for all regarding whether or not he has a realistic chance of playing during the 2022-23 season. The sixth-year point guard hasn't played in an NBA game since Jan. 14, 2022 while struggling to make progress in his recovery from a pair of arthroscopic procedures on his left knee. Though prior updates on Ball from head coach Billy Donovan haven't been especially encouraging, the 25-year-old has been able to dunk the basketball in addition to doing some light running in recent weeks, so he hasn't been completely shut down from activity.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: 'Nowhere close' to returning
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Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said before Saturday's game against the Magic that Ball (knee) is "nowhere close" to returning and the team will have a formal conversation about a cut-off date if his condition doesn't improve over the All-Star break, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports.
It's looking increasingly unlikely that Ball will appear in a game this season. Despite making tangible progress this month through light running and dunking, Ball is still experiencing significant discomfort in his surgically-repaired left knee. Fantasy managers still holding onto Ball in redraft leagues are probably safe to drop him, especially if those leagues end in mid-to-late March rather than April.
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Bulls' Lonzo Ball: Hope for playing in 2022-23 waning
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Ball said Monday that he's still experiencing some discomfort in his surgically repaired left knee and acknowledged the possibility that he might not be able to play during the 2022-23 season, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
While joining the Bulls in Paris ahead of their upcoming game in Paris on Thursday, Ball told reporters that he's remained mentally strong in his year-long absence from the left knee injury that he's addressed through a pair of arthroscopic procedures, the second of which he had in late September. Though Ball is doing light running again and taking part in some on-court work, he likely won't be cleared to ramp up to full-speed, full-contact practice until the discomfort in his knee completely subsides. At this stage, Ball appears safe to rule out through the All-Star break, and his comments Monday suggest that the 25-year-old isn't entirely confident he'll be ready to play before the Bulls wrap up their regular-season slate April 9. Given his lack of a return timeline -- if he suits up at all in 2022-23 -- Ball is tough to justify holding in most redraft leagues with limited injured-list spots.
