Lakers News: Lonzo Ball's Teammate Talks Comeback Hopes After 2-Year Absence

The Lakers' former No. 2 lottery pick is somehow still on the Bulls.

Apr 22, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball (center) looks on from the bench during the second half of game three of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Long-injured veteran 3-and-D point guard Lonzo Ball, who hasn't played since January 2022, is somehow still on the Chicago Bulls. The 6-foot-6 UCLA product has undergone three surgeries on his left knee, but has finally progressed to five-on-five workouts this summer.

Chicago could have found a way to waive Ball's contract, but that would have required the team paying more money for additional players on the team's roster. And the Reinsdorf family would absolutely hate that. So instead, he's been cashing checks for two-and-a-half years. Mercifully for Bulls fans, Ball is in the final season of his contract.

When healthy, Ball was a terrific two-way point guard. The Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he was ultimately shipped out to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of L.A.'s trade package to acquire Anthony Davis. During his two seasons in Los Angeles, Ball appeared in just 99 games (95 starts), averaging 10.0 points while slashing .380/.315/.437, 6.4 dishes, 6.2 boards, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blcoks.

Ball later signed on with the Bulls as a free agent in 2021-22, averaging 13.0 points on a .432/.423/.750 slash line, plus 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 dimes, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks a night.

In a new conversation with longtime hoops insider Marc Stein on the latter's Substack, former two-time All-Star Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic, now Ball's teammate with the Bulls, unpacked Ball's comeback effort.

"I've heard that he's been looking good … that he's been doing everything that he can to get back," Vucevic said. "I'm excited to see him back in the game when we get back in Chicago, see how everything looks. I really hope for him that he's able to play and be back. I can't imagine, at that age (26) especially, having to miss two and a half years. It was very difficult for him to deal with different treatments, surgeries and all that. It's a long road to come back and so, hopefully, I really hope for him that it pays off and he's able to play again. He'll mean so much to our team because of his talent and everything."

Vucevic appreciated Ball's contributions prior to the knee surgeries. Coby White is now very clearly Chicago's starting point guard going forward. If healthy, Ball seems poised for more of a reserve role. If he can string any healthy games together.

"When he was playing, we were playing much better. He was a big part because of his playmaking, his defense, his shotmaking ability as well. He was a huge part of what we were doing. He was a big guard and that was big for us, so losing him was kind of tricky," Vucevic continued. "It wasn't an injury where we knew how long he would be out. We were always kind of waiting. And then we knew all of last year that he would be out."

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