It’s a discussion the Bulls have to have as an organization at some point very soon.
If the front office is really doing its job, they’ve undoubtedly already had it.
Billy Donovan, however, wasn’t there yet.
In the wake of the news that guard Lonzo Ball would be undergoing a third surgery in 14 months on the injured left knee, Donovan was asked on Friday about the possibility that when Ball played in that January 2022 loss to Golden State, if that could be his last game in a Bulls uniform?
Considering all the unknowns for an NBA player to have a cartilage transplant, that’s a reality that stares Ball and the Bulls in the face.
“I do feel optimistic because I see him and his desire to want to come back, so if there’s an opportunity for him to come back, I believe because of his willingness to work to get himself back, he’ll get there,’’ Donovan said.
Like most NBA coaches, there’s always a special bond between coach and point guard. Ball and Donovan were no exception, especially with his much trust Donovan put on Ball both pacing the team offensively and running the backcourt defense.
Even with Ball sidelined, there were frequent talks between the two. That’s why Donovan has to do his best to separate the basketball side of this injury from the human side.
Not an easy tightrope to walk.
“I’m saddened,’’ Donovan said of the latest news on Ball. “From a team perspective, from a coaching standpoint, he’s a really good player and you love to have him out there, but to me when you’re around him as much as we’ve been around him, and the team has been around him, the fact that the game has been taken from him and he can’t play, you just feel terrible for him because he loves the game, he loves playing.
“You see everything he has done since this has happened to try and get himself back on the court, and you always want to see a guy get rewarded by putting in the work he’s put in to get back.’’
This story might not end that way unfortunately.
Even if the surgery goes well, Ball’s recovery time will be a long and hard road. While the Bulls won’t timetable it, there is a good chance he will miss most – or all – of next season. That would be two-and-a-half years of no organized basketball.
“The biggest thing we can do is support him and be there for him, because he’s been through a lot, and he’s handled himself incredibly well for someone that’s had really half of last year and all of this year taken away, and then the upcoming surgery, him being out indefinitely, what that looks like? He’s been through a lot mentally,’’ Donovan said. “Even though he comes in and he’s around the team for a period of time, there is a lot of time that he’s away from everybody. Just having to come to grips of not playing is really, really hard for him to absorb, but he handles himself incredibly well.’’
Green day
There was some good news about a knee, as Donovan said that Javonte Green (right knee) went through a full-contact practice with the Windy City Bulls Friday afternoon, concluding a positive week of work.
Green last played on Dec. 31, shut down because of knee soreness. When the soreness wasn’t getting better in the rehab process, he opted for a clean-up surgery.
While the Bulls didn’t put an exact timetable on a return, it obviously wasn’t going great until recently, as Green was having troubles cutting and moving laterally.
The hope was Green has now turned the corner, and could be back in the next week if there are no setbacks.