Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan isn’t ready to say Lonzo Ball has suffered a setback in his rehab from a knee injury. But Donovan didn’t paint a positive picture about where Ball is at either, as he shared that the Bulls guard is still unable to sprint.
“I don’t know if he’s stuck,” Donovan said. “He is doing some shooting, some running, some jumping. He hasn’t done any sprinting yet, that I know.”
Donovan was asked if that’s a setback and he stopped short of calling it that.
“They talked about that, and [sprinting] was kind of a goal, a set point. I do think the one thing that has been a priority right now, so he does not get set back, is he needs to develop more strength in his leg,” Donovan said. “Because of him having that surgery and being off his leg so long, before he’s really able to ramp up, I think they want him to get to a place physically that relates to his quad strength. I don’t want to say it’s a holdup, but that’s where they want to get him to. In terms of what he’s doing, he feels better.”
Ball hasn’t played in a game since January 14, 2022. The veteran point guard missed the second half of that season, and all of the 2022-23 season. Ball has been ruled out for the entirety of this season, as well. That means the next chance for Ball to play will be over two-and-a-half years from his last appearance.