Lonzo Ball is rehabbing his right knee which has kept him off an NBA floor for 2.5 years due to three separate surgeries he's undergone on the same knee.
But he's aiming to return to the floor next season and his recovery is going smoother than it has ever up to this point. With that being said, one of his trainers recently posted a video of the Bulls point guard throwing a lob to himself off a gym wall and throwing down a dunk with ease.
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Ball isn't 100% ready to retake the NBA floor, although he said in his new podcast he could. He wants to continue improving his health and strength so he's fully ready to make a return.
He shared an update on his status on his new podcast, "What an Experience."
"It's coming along, man. Week by week," Ball shared at the top of the podcast. "It's improving, so that's all I can ask for. Still not where I want it to be. Out of 100 (percent), I'd say I'm about 70 (percent). Good enough to play, but it could still get better. I still got a long summer ahead of me. But definitely looking forward to the future."
This is undoubtedly the closest Ball has come to returning to an NBA floor in 2.5 years. There were early instances in Ball's rehab when he couldn't perform everyday tasks without pain, such as walking up stairs or jumping.
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It's a pivotal offseason for Ball, who's going into the final year of the four-year deal he struck with the Bulls in the summer of 2021. In the first week of May, Ball assured that, picking up his player option worth $21.3 million on the last year of his contract.
On the radio with 670 The Score during the first week of April, Ball's father, LaVar, projected his son has 4-to-5 months before he can play 5-on-5 basketball with full contact. A four-month timeline from LaVar's projection slates Lonzo to return around August; a return closer to five months would put him in early September.
With the 2024 NBA Draft slated to commence on June 27, and NBA free agency opening three days after that, Ball creates a difficult timeline for the Bulls to figure out his place during a turning point in the organization.
At the team's end-of-season press conference, Vice President Artūras Karnišovas said change will come this offseason for the Bulls roster. In laying out his plan, he said they would "wait and see" on Ball's health.
"We’re just going to wait and see his progression the next couple of months," Karnisovas said. "He’s progressing well. Everything is looking with no setbacks. So we’ll see where he’s at in a couple of months."