Chicago Bulls confirm Lonzo Ball will miss all of next season. What’s been said?
It’s hard not to feel some degree of sympathy for the Chicago Bulls and their star, in the wake of a rather sad situation involving a very serious knee injury.
As they look toward the coming season, it’s now clear that the Bulls will have to do without one of their stars who just happens to be one of the most talented players of his generation. Indeed, at this point, it remains unclear as to when or if he will play again.
Bulls confirm Lonzo Ball will miss 2023-24 NBA season
You may recall our report back in May when the Chicago Bulls reportedly acknowledged the idea that their star point guard, Lonzo Ball, was potentially facing the end of his career as a result of an ongoing problem in his left knee. While that is not officially the case, recent comments from the franchise certainly don’t paint a positive picture. Speaking at Thursday night’s NBA Draft, Chicago Bulls president of basketball operations, Artūras Karnišovas, confirmed that Ball is not expected to feature for the team in this upcoming season.
“Going into the offseason, I think our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season and he’s going to continue on his recovery,” Karnišovas said. “If he comes back, it would be great. But we’re just going to treat this offseason and getting ready for the season that he’s not going to be back next season.”
Lonzo Ball’s situation is not good at all for the Bulls
It goes without saying that this is the last thing Bulls fans wanted to hear, but it’s still better than what was previously feared i.e., he would never play again. Ball as you may remember, underwent a third operation on his left knee back in March. The procedure involved a cartilage transplant in the hopes of repairing the meniscus which he tore back on January 14th, 2022. To be clear, that’s the last time Ball played a game of basketball as the Bulls essentially ruled him out for the remainder of the season. During the campaign, he averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. It was his first season with the Bulls following a four-year, 80 million sign-and-trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
As for what this means for the Bulls, it’s quite simple really: this is not ideal in the least. For a franchise that is already facing immense speculation about another star, Zach LaVine, the timing couldn’t be worse. If you didn’t know, LaVine is said to be at odds with both the front office and team talisman, DeMar DeRozan, meaning you can expect the chatter about his future to intensify in the coming days. Yet, when we get to the heart of the matter, what is truly sad in all of this is that the NBA and its fans have been robbed of the opportunity to see a talented player - perhaps forever - and he in turn seems to be on the verge of losing the opportunity to showcase his talent. Get well soon Mr. Ball.