MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Chicago Bulls and point guard Lonzo Ball agreed to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday, rewarding the 27-year-old after he battled back from injuries that caused him to miss two seasons.
Ball is averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 assists per game in 30 games this season after he was forced out of the previous two seasons due to multiple issues with his left knee. He underwent a cartilage and meniscus transplant in the knee last year after several procedures failed to fix his injury.
“I'm excited for him because of the journey he's had to get back in between the lines and playing and, obviously, give all the medical people a ton of credit of helping him get to that point,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said after Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I think he, really, always has felt pretty good about his situation here in Chicago, which I think is great. I think he's been a great inspiration to a lot of us.”
Chicago played without Ball (left knee injury management) on Wednesday for the second game of a back-to-back after beating Miami a night earlier. Ball had played eight games in a row but is still not playing both games of a back-to-back.
He played in 35 games in his first season with the Bulls in 2021-22 before the injuries sidelined him. He made his return in October.
Chicago reportedly had trade suitors for Ball, but the team decided to keep him despite seemingly being in a rebuild after the trade of Zach LaVine to Sacramento over the weekend.
“We felt like he was an important piece to that, in terms of helping people,” Donovan said of Ball's impact. “He's got a great IQ. He knows how to play and I think anytime you have a point guard that's got that kind of IQ, he makes people around him better.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
The Associated Press
