Lonzo Ball has been one of the biggest what-ifs in recent Chicago Bulls’ history.
What if Ball hadn’t gotten hurt back in 2022 when the Bulls were humming along in first place in the Eastern Conference?
Chicago was 22-13 with Ball and looked like one of the best teams in the East, so you have to wonder what the last 2.5 years would have looked like if he had not blown out his knee. The Bulls may still have DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso and may have been trying to add the finishing pieces to chase a title this offseason instead of blowing up their roster.
Hypotheticals are all we have with Ball, who hasn’t played in a live game of 5-on-5 since January of 2022, something that will soon change.
Lonzo Ball injury update
Lonzo Ball has been using his WAE Show to give regular updates on his injury.
He has already claimed he’ll be back by the beginning of next season (I’ll have to see that to believe it) and most recently talked about being cleared for the next step in the process.
Ball has been given the green light to play five-on-five, something he hasn’t done in years. He’ll finally get back on the court next month and should be able to go full speed:
The latest on @ZO2_ injury and the next big step he’s taking pic.twitter.com/BCk6V0JCoi
— The WAE Show (@TheWAEShow) July 26, 2024
Ball is one of the X-Factors of next season for the Bulls for a couple of reasons. If both he and Zach LaVine are healthy, the Bulls could be better than expected, which is a good or bad thing depending on your point of view, as the Bulls have a top-10 protected pick in next year’s draft that they’d love to keep.
A healthy Ball might be enough to put that pick in jeopardy.
But if Lonzo shows he is healthy and can still play, he’d be a trade asset at the deadline, as he’s on an expiring deal and is the type of 3-and-D player every team could use.
If Ball and LaVine can establish themselves early on, they could both be flipped before the deadline, hopefully for draft assets and expiring deals so that the Bulls can bottom out for one season, add a player from the loaded 2025 class to their young core and rebuild quickly.
Lonzo Ball will be a wildcard for next season, either as a player or as a trade asset for the Bulls.