Lonzo Ball Won’t Be Fully Cleared From Knee Surgery When The Lakers Start Training Camp


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There are about 10,000 interesting subplots with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018-19 NBA season, as is usually the case when you’re the basketball team that employs LeBron James. One of the subplots that could determine whether the Lakers are a potential championship contender or merely a good team is how Lonzo Ball performs during his sophomore campaign.

Ball had his ups and downs during his first year in the league, both in terms of how he played and in terms of dealing with injuries. During the offseason, Ball had one injury concern taken care of, as he received arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The procedure occurred in mid-July, and according to Luke Walton, Ball isn’t quite ready to make his impact felt on the floor yet.

Walton spoke to Spectrum SportsNet in Los Angeles and gave a status update on Ball. While Ball is making progress, Walton said he’s not quite ready to go and won’t be fully cleared once training camp rolls around next week.

Not rushing Ball is, obviously, the smart move. It’s never a good idea to risk the long-term health of a player over getting them back a few weeks earlier than you need to, even if this training camp is important so he can build chemistry with James and the rest of his new teammates. That time will come, though, and seeing how James has not been shy about his affinity for the former No. 2 overall draft pick, it’s safe to assume Ball will have every opportunity to make an impression on the new-look Lakers.

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