As the Chicago Bulls look ahead to free agency, a new problem has emerged that could have some big implications for the franchise’s long-term future.
According to Chicago sports insider David Kaplan, the team has some serious concerns about Lonzo Ball’s knee, which was injured earlier this season. Apparently, his recovery has been less than ideal.
Longtime Chicago media personality David Kaplan created a stir Monday morning when he said on his ESPN-AM 1000 radio program that the Chicago Bulls’ front office has “serious concerns” over the lack of progress regarding Lonzo Ball’s left knee injury.
Kaplan, who also hosts “Unfiltered with David Kaplan” and the “Football Aftershow” following Bears games on NBC Sports Chicago, added Ball’s lack of progress “will color how they will address their offseason.”
“They” means Bulls management, which addressed the situation on April 29, one day after Ball also talked about his frustration with the lingering injury.
“It’s always a concern, right?” executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas said that day, two days after the Milwaukee Bucks ended a Bulls’ season in which Ball played just 35 games. “I’ll be positive because we missed him greatly this year. We missed his size, we missed him pushing the break. We got a little bit slower the second half of the season. We missed his eight attempts per game from three at 42%. So we’re missing him, but we also have to pay attention to what’s going on there and we’ll try and figure it out this summer.’’
REPORT: The Bulls have “serious concerns” about Lonzo Ball’s knee, reports @NBCSChicago.
Oh no… pic.twitter.com/yYKFW3i1ud
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 16, 2022
Lonzo, 24, has emerged as a quality two-way guard for Chicago. In 35 games during the 2021-22 campaign, he averaged 13 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game on 42% shooting.
While he missed most of the season, he was a huge player for the Bulls when healthy and contributed great minutes during their strongest stretches of the season.
If his health is really compromised, it could set the Bulls back from all the progress they’ve made over the past few years. At the very least, it calls into question Ball’s long-term future with the franchise.
It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out over the next few weeks and months.
