After a dreadfully long summer of no news on the status of Lonzo Ball‘s knee, we’ve finally been given a sweet release with an update on Wednesday. It’s almost as if The Monkey’s Paw itself granted our wish, as Ball will have another surgery done on his left knee before being re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks. This also means he won’t be available to play for the Chicago Bulls in their season opener.
Unfortunately, Ball’s expected absence has already opened the floodgates as to who his replacement may be. After the Chicago Bulls went out and added Goran Dragic in free agency to a stacked backcourt rotation featuring Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, and Coby White, it’s almost like they foresaw this coming.
Lonzo Ball will undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee next Wednesday, the Bulls just announced.
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) September 21, 2022
He’ll be re-evaluated in 4-to-6 weeks
In the online community for Chicago Bulls fans on Reddit, a poll is running on who would be the best option to temporarily replace Lonzo in the starting lineup. While voting is still open for the poll, it’s clear to see what — or rather, who — the fans have decided on.
With over 700 votes already cast and counting, Dosunmu has received approximately 50% of the vote, while Caruso has received 35%, Dragic 10%, and White 5%.
News of Lonzo Ball being sidelined for the start of the season means Ayo Dosunmu has been given another chance to shine for the Chicago Bulls.
Since many online communities are prone to succumbing to groupthink, I thought we could run our own test over own the Pippen Ain’t Easy Twitter page. Unsurprisingly, this yielded almost identical results. Dosunmu is dominating the vote, possessing over 50% of all votes.
An interesting twist here is that Dragic has garnered the second-most votes of the four options. This differs from the Reddit poll, where Caruso received three times as many votes as Dragic.
With Lonzo Ball set to miss the beginning of the season, who would you like to see replace him as starting point guard for the Bulls?
— Pippen Ain't Easy (@BullsBeatBlog) September 22, 2022
After Caruso’s breakout season for the Bulls, it’s easy to understand why many fans would feel attached and lean towards picking him for the job. However, Dragic has a whole career’s worth of experience as a starter over Caruso and is a more natural fit for a “pure” point guard. Caruso’s high-energy, hustle defense, and presence as an on-court coach may actually be more valuable off of the bench in the long run.
In the end, there’s no one on this roster who can replicate the things Lonzo brings to the table. The Bulls will absolutely need him back and healthy if they wish to make a playoff push. Until then, however, I’ll sit back and enjoy the Ayo show while it lasts.