“We’re going to take it one step at a time,” said Bulls president Artūras Karnišovas, hopefully on Lonzo Ball’s return. At this point, it should already be called the Chicago Bulls‘ curse. Following Derrick Rose’s turbulent career riddled with lower injuries, the 26-year-old guard went through a similar frustrating phase. After two and a half years, the decorated guard, along with a ‘brand new knee’, revealed his plans for the upcoming season.

Fortunate enough for the Bulls, Ball came into the side exactly when the team lost one of their star front-court stars, DeMar DeRozan. Notably, the guard cannot straight away jump into serious action. Considering the severity of the injury, the star will play in the team in a phased manner. Well, there’s a whole other story behind the cautious decision. Before we understand more about the rebuilt knee, let’s take a look at Ball’s plan for the season.

Speaking at the Bulls Media Day, Lonzo Ball had an interesting question thrown at him. A reporter asked if the star would have the same chemistry that he had developed roughly three years ago. Interestingly, he came into the side for the 2021-22 season, and 35 games into the season, Ball injured his knee. And within these three years’ time, the Bulls side saw a lot of changes. Especially, the starting lineup only has two fresh faces like Josh Giddey and Coby White.

However, Ball doesn’t seem to be intimidated by the drastic changes. Responding to the question, he confidently said, “I feel like I can personally play with anybody. I feel a lot older coming back and seeing the guys in here. Now, we have a young team but I’m happy for them. I’m excited to get the year started.” The guard had a defensive partnership with Alex Caruso before the injury. Can he deliver a similar performance?

Is Lonzo Ball healthy enough to play the entire season?

The direct response to this question will be, No. But, at the same time, it’s not bad news for the Bulls fans either. In the last two years, Ball had gone through multiple surgeries and setbacks to even get back on his feat. To be precise, he had three surgeries in the process. In 2022, he underwent knee surgery to treat his torn meniscus. While he was expected to miss an entire season and return to the 2023-24 season, the rehab process pushed him into another surgery.

And, again, the rehab process required another surgery. This time, an experimental cartilage transplant surgery gave him a new meniscus. In fact, he has a brand new knee. That doesn’t mean that Lonzo Ball could hop into the court straight away. Like Karnišovas said, it’s one step at a time.

The first positive sign came in when Ball was seen taking part in 5-on-5 scrimmages in late August. The reports revealed that Ball would play under minutes restrictions and will avoid back-to-back games to protect his knees. Moreover, speaking at Media Day, he added, “My game’s going to have to change a little bit, but I still know how to play the game and I think I can play at a high level.” Do you think Ball’d change the dynamics of the East with his presence? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.