Two years ago, the Chicago Bulls took a major swing, pushing their chips on the table in an attempt to form a playoff-caliber team. They ended their rebuild by trading for Nikola Vucevic, and they followed up that move by signing DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball that summer.
Since then, the Bulls have won just one playoff game. DeRozan has revived his career, making two All-Star teams, Caruso has been named to the All-Defensive First Team, but Ball has fallen flat. Just 35 games into his Bulls career, Ball went down with a knee injury and has yet to get back onto the court.
Now, it’s looking like he won’t be back in a Bulls uniform for a long, long time. According to Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas, Chicago doesn’t expect Ball to be back next season.
“Going into the offseason, our expectations is that he’s not coming back next season,” Karnisovas said via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.
Arutras Karnišovas on Lonzo Ball: "Going into the offseason, our expectations is that he’s not coming back next season.”
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) June 23, 2023
This is devastating news for the Bulls, but there were already rumblings that Ball may miss the entirety of the 2023-24 season. Chicago desperately needs a starting-caliber point guard, but they will have to move forward under the impression that Ball can’t be that guy.
In the 35 games he played, Ball looked like a perfect fit alongside the rest of Chicago’s core, but he just can’t get healthy. At the very least, Ball is set to miss all of next year, but at worst, there’s a chance he never steps back onto the court again.
