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Lonzo Ball is primed to take the floor for the Chicago Bulls in 2024-25.
It will be Ball’s first time on the floor for the Bulls since January 2022 and much has changed with the team in his two-plus-season absence. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan crystalized Ball’s situation during an interview on 670 The Score.
He first echoed sentiments from Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas about the unknowns around Ball’s return.
“I think the thing that Artuas mentioned, which is critical: we don’t know how he’s going to respond after games, after practice because we haven’t seen it yet, right? So that’s what we first gotta start off with, is it something where he plays 15 to 20 minutes and now he’s gotta take the next day off? Can he play 25 or 30 minutes? How does he respond? The back-to-backs. We don’t know any of those things, so we’re gonna wait to find out,” Donovan told “Mully & Haugh” on September 25.
“Lonzo loves to play. He loves to play. And at his age, as much as he loves to play, he wants to play beyond this year. So we, I think, also have a responsibility to make sure that he’s in a position where he can play after this season. Where it’s not one of these things where it’s not managed correctly or we’re not putting him in a situation to be effective.”
“We’ve been talking, obviously, to Zo. He’s excited about training camp. But again, here in training camp, we’re going to try to find out the loads that he’s gonna have to take in training camp, and the grind on a daily basis will [determine] his rotational minutes, his role, and how much he’s gonna play,” Karnisovas said on the show.
“He’s been playing 5-on-5 since August. He’s been doing more. He recently had a setback just because he got sick and then missed like a week and a half.
“By training camp, he should be ramping up.”
Lonzo Ball Progressing as Planned
Ball has undergone three surgeries to address the knee injury that was supposed to keep him out for up to two months after the initial diagnosis. His latest surgery involved a donor ligament transplant.
Ball has been open about his physical struggles during his recovery and about 5-on-5 being his next big test.
“He’s an elite point guard that certainly warrants being out on the court a lot,” Donovan said. “But is he capable of doing that physically? And those are things we just don’t know right now. And until we get to training camp and he’s out there, [then] we’ll have a better feel of how we can manage him and allow him to be a productive player.”
Ball is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract.
He turns 27 years old in October, so he fits the Bulls’ new direction. But the roster has also changed a lot since he has been out. Most notably, the Bulls acquired Josh Giddey during the 2024 offseason. They plan for him to be their primary ball handler.
Lonzo Ball Likely Auditioning for Other Teams With Bulls Contract Set to Expire
The Bulls acquired Giddey for Alex Caruso, and the former is headed for restricted free agency after the 2024-25 season unless an extension is reached. The Bulls could be banking on the cap space they will have from letting Ball walk for Giddey’s next deal.
They could also try letting Ball build up his value and flip him as part of a larger deal or for a team looking to get out from under their own burdensome contracts.
At any rate, Ball’s future with the Bulls is murky beyond 2024-25.
The team also has rising star Coby White, fellow young guard Ayo Dosunmu, and veteran reserve Jevon Carter. A slew of prospects are contending for a limited number of minutes and/or roster spots too.
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