Lonzo Ball and his camp may be doing all they can to keep him in Los Angeles.
News broke Friday via Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania that the Lakers guard suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee. However, Charania’s report called the injury “minor” and said that Ball was diagnosed at the end of the regular season in April, also adding that he is expected to be ready for training camp.
If the timing here seems at all fishy to you, you just might be onto something.
In an appearance on ESPN LA 710’s “Afternoons with Marcellus and Travis,” Lakers insider Ramona Shelburne gave additional context about the injury in the wake of the report and revealed that it was not a new issue.
“From what I understand, this is the same injury he had the PRP [platelet-rich plasma injection] on,” said Shelburne. “I’m surprised that it came out like this and now. The reason I’ll tell you that, guys, is because the Lakers are not in charge of releasing this kind of information during the summertime because there’s like HIPAA laws against it.
“So that was a well-reported story initially, but it had to come from Lonzo and his camp,” she continued. “Why would half the story come out then and more come out now? I don’t know, maybe somebody is worried about getting traded or something. That was strange.”
Indeed, the left knee was the one that gave Ball trouble during his rookie year, costing him a couple dozen games, including the last several of the season. But in any case, Friday’s report came with roughly 36 hours to go before the official start of free agency and with the Lakers being heavily linked to San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard in trade rumors. If Ball is worried that he might be dealt, he is definitely not the only young Laker who feels that way.
