The Chicago Bulls are expecting Lonzo Ball not to feature the team heading into next season, according to the team's Vice President, Arturas Karnisovas.
The 25-year-old point guard missed the entire 2022-23 NBA season due to a left knee injury that resulted in cartilage transplant surgery in March. The operation marked the third medical procedure on his knee, keeping Ball sidelined since his last appearance in an NBA game in January.
Karnisovas addressed the media before the NBA Draft took place on Thursday. Originally, the Bulls didn't have a draft pick due to forfeiting the selection after violating rules governing free agency discussions.
However, the team traded to get into the second round to select Tennessee forward Julian Phillips with the number 34 pick and took the chance to inform the media on the status of Ball's return. "Our expectation is that he's not coming back next season," Karnisovas said.
"He's going to continue on his recovery. If he comes back, it would be great. But we're just going to treat this offseason and get ready for the season that he's not going to be back."
A series of knee surgeries on the same leg has been that catalyst that's ended NBA careers. Although the Bulls Vice President mentioned that Ball recently began to walk without crutches and is seemingly improving since his last surgery, he still hopes the team can get their point guard on the court alongside Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
"I hope eventually we're going to see him on a basketball court," Karnisovas said. "But I do not think he's going to be back next year."
Ball signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the team in 2021. He's played in just 35 games with the team, scoring 13 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting, with 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. His field goal percentage and three-point percentage of 42.3 percent were the highest of his career during his short tenure on the court with the Bulls.
When Lonzo was on the court for the Bulls, the team looked like contenders in the Eastern Conference, reaching the number one seed position. Almost as soon as his injury occurred, the team lost all momentum falling to the sixth seed.
Ball began his NBA career as a signature athlete for Big Baller Brand shoes, a sports apparel and footwear company started by his father, LaVar Ball. His first signature sneaker, the ZO2, launched online on the Big Baller Brand website during his rookie season in 2017 for a retail price of $495.
The Los Angeles Lakers, who drafted Ball, allegedly told radio host Doug Gottlieb that the BBB shoes were the catalyst for Lonzo's initial lower limb injuries.
"Lakers believe his initial injury was caused by his shoes. BBB was complete trash, no R&D like Nikes, just thrown together. Sad, because Zo can really play" said Gottlieb on Twitter.
In 2019, Ball ditched his signature sneaker and began to wear different signature lines within the Nike ecosystem, featuring pairs from the Kobe Bryant line.
Since then, his brother and Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo has begun his journey as one of the primary faces of PUMA basketball alongside New York Liberty WNBA star Breanna Stewart.
