Lonzo Ball has admitted he has no idea when he will return to the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, with an injury still meaning he is struggling to walk.
The 2017 no.2 draft pick has been absent since January with a knee issue, but many expected him to return this season after undergoing surgery. But Ball is still unable to run, jump, or even climb up a flight of stairs without feeling pain, meaning that a second surgery is required.
That could rule him out for a minimum of four to six weeks, although Ball is concerned for his wellbeing beyond that. The 24-year-old has 'never felt pain like it', and is unsure when he will feel comfortable enough to put on a Bulls jersey.
Losing Ball is a significant loss to the Bulls team, and they have been without their point guard since January. When he initially tore his meniscus he was expected back within two months, but it's reaching eight months since that diagnosis, with no clarity just yet.
Ball still took part in the Bulls media day, and was flooded with questions about his injury and wellbeing. The Bulls star revealed that he struggles to do 'basketball activities' without feeling pain in his left knee, and shared the troubling insight. "I still can’t play basketball. I can't run or jump. It's every day, even going up stairs and stuff, it's still painful," he explained.
"There was a point where we would warm up and stuff, and I would go through certain days and it would be fine," Ball said via a video call with reporters. "Then whenever I got to real basketball activities, I just couldn't do it.
"Unfortunately, this is what's at hand and has to be dealt with. We feel like surgery, again, is the best option. I've never felt pain like this or was able to ramp up a little bit but never fully, so definitely a unique situation.
"The doctors and the Bulls, we're all trying to figure out what it is. Like I said, we all came to the conclusion that it's time for surgery." Reporters asked if he thought it could be season ending, but Ball isn't worrying about that just yet.
"That's not in my mind right now, but that would be the worst-case scenario," Ball said. "I'm at a point now where I know I can't get back out there until I'm comfortable playing and can actually play. So whenever that day comes, that's when I'll have the jersey back on."
The Bulls need a replacement for the near future, but head coach Billy Donovan is not going to rush into making a decision, and is keen to see how pre-season goes first. "We need to see how, I'm more concerned about how groups function and play together, more so than just one position.
"And I do think at the point guard position, there is experience that we've got with Goran [Dragic], there's experience there with Alex [Caruso]. I think there's now experience with Ayo [Dosunmu], Coby's [White] played back there. So I think there's enough right now, who starts, how it goes, and the starting job, I'm not really that wrapped up in that right now, as much as we can establish who we want to be as a team going forward."
