While the likelihood of a return for Bulls guard Lonzo Ball seems great during the regular season, it is very clearly up in the air for NBA preseason games.
Chicago opens the preseason on the road Tuesday against the Cavaliers. Bulls coach Billy Donovan told NBA reporters that he hasn’t decided if Ball will play, via Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.
Also, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago wrote that “Ball and Josh Giddey both continue to take contact in practice and scrimmage but Billy Donovan wouldn’t commit to them playing in Tuesday’s preseason opener in Cleveland. Said Ball ‘still has a ramp-up period’ but also didn’t rule him out.”
Major knee issues have kept Ball off the floor since Jan. 14, 2022, his last regular-season appearance. He has indicated he will be ready for opening night, Oct. 23, vs. the Pelicans. Ball signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Bulls in August 2021 as part of a sign-and-trade deal with those very Pelicans.
“I would think coming back from that injury, there’d be a type of hesitancy,’ Bulls guard Coby White told reporters, via Poe. “But he’s been aggressive. He’s not shying away from contact. … You can’t really tell he’s been hurt.”
He averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks for Chicago in 2021-22 in 35 games, shooting 42.3% from the field, 42.3% from beyond the arc and 75.0% from the free-throw line.
Ball has career averages of 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks with the Lakers, Pelicans and Bulls. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Lakers.
The Bulls missed the playoffs in 2023 and 2024 without Ball, who underwent a cartilage transplant in his left knee. He received a meniscus transplant from a donor.
(Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.)
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