The past two years have been rough for the Chicago Bulls. They took a huge swing when they traded for Nikola Vucevic at the 2021 NBA trade deadline, and they backed it up by signing DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso the following summer. But since then, all they have is one first-round exit to show for their roster aggressiveness.
While their middling success has largely been the team’s middle-of-the-pack play, Ball’s brutal injury luck has also played a huge part in their struggles. Despite signing with the team during the 2021 offseason, Ball has only appeared in 35 total games for the Bulls, and they can’t really count on him returning anytime soon. At least, that’s what NBA.com’s Sam Smith believes.
During a recent mailbag article, Smith was asked about a potential Gordon Hayward trade, but the fan writing in expressed their concerns with the forward’s injury concerns. Smith pointed out that if Hayward’s injury issues are concerning, then Ball’s should be, too.
“I’m not sure I’d count on Ball then, either,” Smith wrote. “I guess you can hope, but that’s a long time away and a lot of recent surgeries. You hope for his sake he can return. But it seems unlikely you’d ask or expect him to be that Lonzo.”
When Ball first joined the team at the start of the 2021-22 season, the Bulls got off to a hot start. Unfortunately, he missed all of this season and is set to miss all of next year, too.
Ball may return to the court eventually, but the Bulls can’t count on him to be the same player. And they certainly can’t base their future plans on his health.
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