Lonzo Ball has chance to play next season?

Dec 19, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball (2) brings the ball up court against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Lonzo Ball is still attempting to come back from a major knee injury, and it sounds like there is some hope in his camp that a return may be possible.

In a new mailbag column published on Thursday, KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago wrote that there is “growing buzz” that Ball will at least attempt to play next season. However, Ball has yet to even progress to 5-on-5 work, so the idea of a return is still largely speculative for the time being.

The Bulls intend to give Ball another chance to play, partly because they have no other real choice. He has a player option worth over $21 million for next season and will almost certainly exercise it, so the Bulls are invested in trying to get him back on the floor.

There has been some modest encouragement about Ball’s progress recently as he tries to come back from three procedures on the same knee. He has a long way to go before he can realistically entertain a return to game action, but at this point, even the lack of setbacks has to be considered promising.