The first major move of the 2024 offseason saw the Chicago Bulls acquire Josh Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Alex Caruso. The Giddey era now begins in Chicago but according to The Athletic, it also perhaps signals the end of Lonzo Ball’s time with the Bulls.
“Giddey’s acquisition also further clouds the Bulls’ plans for Ball, who hasn’t played since January 2022 but is expected to make a comeback next season. It’s impossible to not view Giddey as insurance in case Ball doesn’t return. By bringing in Giddey, the Bulls also might have signaled they’re ready to move on from Ball. A trade or buyout could be likely.”
While Ball appears to have made progress on his recovery from injury, you can’t blame the organization if they think it might be time to move on. The 26-year-old last played a game in the NBA all the way back on Jan. 14, 2022, against the Golden State Warriors.
Ball had suffered a meniscus tear at that time and while it was thought he would just be out for a few months, his knee problems just didn’t go away. He had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery in September 2022, and then cartilage transplant surgery in March 2023.
The Bulls stuck by Ball through all of it, but Giddey’s arrival does make you believe that they might be considering a parting of ways. As for what’s more likely between a trade and a buyout, I’d say the latter.
Ball has already opted into his $21.3 million player option for 2024-25 and I don’t see a contending team trading for him when he’d eat up that much cap space. Perhaps a rebuilding team might take a chance but I think it’s quite unlikely, as he will be a free agent in 2025.
If it’s a buyout, though, then I can see some teams being willing to take the risk of bringing Lonzo in. If there is a real chance he could play and then be anywhere near his best by let’s say, the end of the 2024-25 season, then he could prove to be quite an acquisition.
The last time we saw Ball on the court, he was excelling on both ends of the floor. In the 2021-22 season, he averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game for the Bulls and shot 42.3% from beyond the arc. Ball’s stock was at an all-time high at that point and it’s a shame that the injury bug struck then.
Lonzo Ball Revealed How Bad His Injury Was
For the longest time, Lonzo hadn’t given much insight into what he had been going through in recent years. He finally decided to open up recently, and Ball revealed he had to get a new meniscus from a donor.
“It started with a meniscus tear,” said Ball. “It started on the Lakers when I tore it the first time. Tore it a couple more times to the point where there was no more meniscus left. It was bone-on-bone rubbing. The cartilage was gone and the bone was messed up so I had to get a new meniscus from a donor, I had to get a bone allograft and I had to get some new cartilage put in as well.”
He also added that he is confident he’ll be playing in the first game of the 2024-25 season. That is the mindset he needs to have, but I am not so certain that we will see him on the court that soon.
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