Lonzo Ball May Never Be Able To Play Again Due To His Injury

Chicago Bulls Believe Lonzo Ball May Never Be Able To Play Again Due To His Injury

The Bulls privately believe that Lonzo Ball’s playing days are over due to lingering knee issues, according to 670 The Score’s Dan Bernstein.

While co-hosting the Organizations Win Championships podcast, Bernstein reported that the team fears the worst in regard to the former lottery draft pick’s ailing left knee.

“The other thing I heard is even though publicly there has been an expression of guarded optimism regarding a future for Lonzo Ball,” Bernstein said.

 

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“And there’s a reason why for you’re pursuant to all kinds of union issues, why they haven’t asked for the salary exemption yet because they don’t want to send the message publicly that they’re done with him. They don’t think it’s likely that he ever plays again.”

As a point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus first-team All-American honors before the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the second overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2018.

As an NBA rookie with the Lakers, his playing time was limited by shoulder and knee injuries, and he was sidelined for much of his second season after an ankle injury. He was traded at the end of the season to the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade package for Anthony Davis.

He played two seasons with the Pelicans before joining the Bulls in a sign-and-trade deal, but a persistent knee injury has sidelined him for the majority of his tenure with the team, with him missing the entirety of the 2022-23 season.