It wasn’t the usual offseason “Look at me work” social-media video.
There were actual missed shots and errant passes.
Still, longtime NBA trainer Chris Johnson wasn’t trying to impress anyone with results when he posted the video earlier this week. It was all about the continuous journey for Lonzo Ball: 16-plus minutes of NBA players and Ball playing five-on-five, full-go, full-contact. No big deal? For the other NBA players involved, it wasn’t a big deal, just another afternoon in Los Angeles. But for Ball, who has now gone more than 950 days since playing in an NBA game, it continued to be a sign of hope.
The Sun-Times reported this month that Ball finally was cleared to start full-contact scrimmages and had started that process on schedule with no setbacks. Not bad for a guy who had undergone three surgeries on his left knee since joining the Bulls, including an experimental cartilage transplant to replace the meniscus. It’s a procedure that no professional athlete has returned from.
But Ball is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. This one just happens to be a doozy.
So what does it all mean for Ball and the Bulls? Well, there’s finally some light at the end of a dark tunnel, but keep a flashlight handy just in case.
The next step for Ball, 26, will be getting to Chicago and getting in open runs with his teammates at the Advocate Center. That usually starts after Labor Day as players start trickling back into town. The Bulls’ medical staff will have a better look at him and can start implementing an exact plan for him into the preseason.
But none of this will matter until Ball can show that his knee is able to handle the day-to-day grind of an NBA regular season.
He will undoubtedly be on a minutes restriction once the games start. He also likely not play in back-to-backs for a while. So how can the Bulls best use Ball and get the most out of the $21.3 million he’s making in the last year of his deal?
That’s where it gets a bit tricky.
First, the organization — starting at the top with executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas — has made it clear that newly acquired Josh Giddey will be the starting point guard. Ball, who is relatively quiet, has a reputation of being a solid teammate, so playing mentor to Giddey wouldn’t be a stretch.
After all, they have several similar qualities: size, rebounding ability and an uncanny knack of quickly getting the ball up the floor and putting the defense on its heels. But that’s where the similarities cease. Ball is a much better three-point shooter and defender, skills he might be able to help Giddey improve on.
That’s what this season breaks down to when it comes to Ball. If he can do right by the Bulls and Giddey, they should return the favor when the trade deadline arrives. They won’t get much of a return for Ball because of the health concerns. But how about an expiring contract for a veteran player who can be a finishing piece on a championship contender? Someone just might be a willing buyer.
Or maybe it’s sending Ball out with Zach LaVine in a package, if need be. It wouldn’t be easy, considering the new collective-bargaining agreement handcuffs so many teams, but it would signal an ending.
It wouldn’t be the ending the Bulls and Ball envisioned when they came together before the 2021-22 season, but not all NBA stories have to end happily ever after.
