The Chicago Bulls hope to be without point guard Lonzo Ball for the entire 2023-24 NBA season as the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. nba draft tries to recover from another surgery on his left knee.
ball underwent cartilage transplant surgery in March and missed the 2022-23 season.
Lonzo Ball #2 of the Chicago Bulls watches from the sidelines as his teammates take on the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center on April 5, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bucks defeated the Bulls 127-106. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
It was his third knee surgery that has prevented him from playing a game since January 14, 2022.
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«Everything is going well. Going into the offseason, I think our expectation is that he doesn’t come back next season and that he continues his recovery,» said the executive vice president of basketball ops Arturas Karnisovas said Thursday, according to NBA.com.
«If he comes back, that would be great, but we’re just going to deal with this offseason and prepare for the season that’s not coming back.»
Ball first underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in February 2022 before missing the remainder of the season. He underwent a second surgery in September 2022 and was ruled out for the remainder of the season in February 2023.
Lonzo Ball, #2 of the Chicago Bulls, is defended by Kyrie Irving, #11 of the Brooklyn Nets, during a game at the United Center on January 12, 2022, in Chicago, Illinois. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
«My main focus has been getting back on the court and getting to a place where I can reunite with my teammates. This has been a frustrating process, but I’m confident these next steps are the best way forward,» Ball said in March. . statement announcing his third surgery.
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«The support of my family, friends, fans and medical staff throughout my recovery is what keeps me going. I can’t wait to get back to what I love to do the most: playing basketball.»
Karnisovas said Ball recently started walking on crutches.
«Hopefully we’ll eventually see it on a basketball court,» Karnisovas said. «But I don’t think I’ll be back next year.»
Lonzo Ball, #2, and DeMar DeRozan, #11 of the Chicago Bulls look on during Game 5 of Round 1 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2022, at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Ball was a highly touted prospect out of UCLA when the los angeles lakers selected him with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft.
He was transferred to the new orleans pelicans as part of the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers. Ball agreed to a four-year, $85 million contract with the Bulls as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Pelicans in 2021.
Ball has averaged 11.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in his career.