Over 1,000 days have passed since Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball last took the floor for an NBA game. The Bulls have made several changes to the roster in that time, and Ball is not returning to the same starting point guard role that was vacated by his absence.
Still, the excitement around his return – planned for the Bulls’ third preseason game – is palpable.
So much so that it reached the Oklahoma City Thunder and former Bull Alex Caruso.
Caruso spent three seasons as Ball’s teammate on the Bulls, and they had two previous years as teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers. The former expressed his excitement on social media with emojis.
Caruso was honest about what Ball brought to the team before the Bulls traded him to OKC.
“We have a lot of the same qualities – that anticipation, the knack for making the right play, getting deflections,” Caruso told Chicago Sports Network’s K.C. Johnson for NBC Sports Chicago in October 2022. “And then he’s so lethal in transition. His numbers are off the charts…I know once he comes back, it’s going to be like it was before. We’re going to cause havoc for people.”
The Bulls posted a plus-9.8 on-off differential in 930 possessions with Ball and Caruso on the floor together, ranking in the 94th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass.
Lonzo Ball Set to Return vs Timberwolves
“After missing two straight NBA seasons, Chicago’s Lonzo Ball is expected to make return to basketball on Wednesday vs. Minnesota, sources told ESPN,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on X on October 14. “A major comeback from cartilage transplant surgery for Ball, who last played Jan. 14, 2022.”
Ball spoke about his plans for returning on his podcast.
“I’m sitting in the first two preseason games, expecting to play the last two. Maybe two of the last three. One of those,” Ball said on “The WAE Show” podcast on October 11. “Everything’s going along. Feeling good, knee’s feeling good. Yeah, man, just looking forward to the future, really.
“It’s [his knee] getting better each day, honestly. Just being out there, being comfortable, getting on the court and moving around, trusting all the movements, all the work that I put in, and just seeing it come to light.”
Ball said on Bulls media day that he would be on a minutes restriction and that back-to-backs were out of the question during the season.
Getting back on the floor in any significant capacity in 2024-25 is crucial for Ball.
Lonzo Ball Returns to Bulls at Critical Time
For whatever Ball can bring to the Bulls now, his return to the court is even more significant for his future.
Ball is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract. The NBA granted the Bulls a Disabled Player Exception in 2023 after he was deemed unfit to return to the court for the season. He was even a candidate to have his entire salary wiped were his injury deemed career-ending.
Instead, Ball can now rebuild his value before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2025.
The Bulls have already moved on from Ball as a starter. They traded Caruso for Josh Giddey with Ayo Dosunmu and 2023-24 Most Improved Player runner-up Coby White already in tow.
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