With left knee still ailing, Bulls Ball will have another surgery
Less than a week before the start of training camp, the Bulls officially declared Lonzo Ball out of action.
The team announced Ball will undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee on Wednesday, Sept. 28 in Los Angeles. He will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks.
Back in January, Ball had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and the Bulls were hoping he'd be ready to return in 6-8 weeks. The recovery period stretched to eight months and now beyond. He'll almost certainly be sidelined when the Bulls open the regular season in Miami on Oct. 19.
Late in the regular season, the Bulls gave up on the idea of Ball returning and figured the injury would improve if given more time to rest. During summer league in July, vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas admitted Ball's injury was not healing as quickly as the team hoped.
He's at the point now where more rest probably won't help much, so this move at least gives the Bulls some optimism Ball will feel healthy and be ready to return sometime during the first half of the season.
Ball had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee following his rookie year with the Lakers. Last season with the Bulls, he averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists, but played in just 35 games. He was the Bulls' best 3-point shooter at 42.3% and arguably their best defender.
The Bulls have several options to fill in at point guard. Alex Caruso was a college point guard, second-year pro Ayo Dosunmu got plenty of experience while filling in for Ball last season, and they signed veteran Goran Dragic as a free agent.
The Bulls ended up catching a break when forward Danilo Gallinari passed on a free-agent offer and signed with Boston instead. Gallinari suffered a knee injury this summer that will force him to miss the season, and the Bulls filled the roster spot with Dragic.
The Bulls' first practice of training camp is set for Tuesday. They'll open preseason a week later against New Orleans at the United Center.
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