Former Lakers Guard Lonzo Ball Likely Out For Entire 2023-24 NBA Season With Injury

LA shipped the 2017 No. 2 pick out as part of its fruitful Anthony Davis deal.

Former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, who had already been ruled out for the entirety of the 2022-23 NBA season with a mysterious left knee injury, is set to get his third surgical procedure on the pesky joint in a little over a year, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

Charania adds that the Bulls anticipate Ball will miss at least the majority of the upcoming 2023-24 season, which will be his third for Chicago.

Both the Bulls and Ball's representatives are hopeful that he will be able to return to playing basketball in time for 2024-25, per Charania.

“My main focus has been on returning to the court getting to a place where I can rejoin my teammates,” Ball said in a Chicago press release. “This has been a frustrating process, but I’m confident these next steps are the best path forward.”

This is far from a sure thing, as missing two-and-a-half seasons due to a knee injury that was initially supposed to cost him six weeks' time during the 2021-22 season is clearly indicative that there are no easy answers for this ailment.

LA's front office was clearly savvy to get off of Ball's rookie-scale contract when it did. The 6'6" Chino Hills native, selected by the Lakers out of UCLA with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft (ahead of -- gulp -- Boston Celtics All-NBA First Teamer Jayson Tatum), was a big part of the package shipped out in the deal that brought then-New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. The Lakers instantly won a title with AD in the fold.

Signing Ball to a four-year, $80 million deal in the summer of 2021 has been an unmitigated disaster for a Chicago team that had enjoyed a resurgent first half of its 2021-22 season prior to Ball's injury, and has been a pretty rough watch ever since. Ball has only appeared in 35 games total for the Bulls, and it seems quite possible he will never be able to pick up a basketball ever for an NBA squad again. The Bulls for some reason (probably frugality, knowing Bulls ownership) never applied for a disabled player's exemption this season, which would have enabled them to sign a replacement player for up to half of Ball's salary.

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