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Lonzo Ball on Bulls management: ‘I feel like they made the perfect team around me’

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated21 Aug 2023

Lonzo Ball on Chicago Bulls management I feel like they made the perfect team around me

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball was asked by Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young about how he felt concerning the Bulls roster ahead of the 2023-24 season on Young’s “From the Point” YouTube podcast.

Young: “How do you feel about the team y’all had this season? Y’all have a squad. How do you feel about it?”

Ball: “It’s gonna be a big ‘what if.’ I mean, for me, I feel bad, especially for the GM. I feel like they made the perfect team around me, and I felt like I was involved. It was the most I’ve ever been involved in an organization. I finally got the perfect team that I felt fit my game and played my way.”

Young: “Not only California but really the U.S. started to know about you and your story. When did you say your game took that next step?”

Ball: “When I first knew I could make the NBA was in seventh grade. But the turning point was probably my junior year. I felt like I was just light years better than everyone else.”

On July 13, the Chicago Bulls were granted a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception (DPE) for the season-ending loss of Ball, who is expected to miss the entire 2023-24 season. Ball, 25, is slated to earn $20,465,117 next season.

This is part of the four-year, $80 million contract the 6-foot-6 guard signed with the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a sign-and-trade with the Bulls in August 2021. Chicago applied for the Disabled Player Exception on July 2.

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball feels bad for general manager Marc Eversley and executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas

In June, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas made the announcement that Lonzo Ball would miss the 2023-24 season. Although Ball has missed a number of games due to a left knee injury, the NBA executive has no plans of waiving Zo.

“Everything is going well,” Karnisovas said. “Going into the offseason, I think our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season and he’s going to continue on his recovery.

“If he comes back, it would be great but we’re just going to treat this offseason and getting ready for the season that he’s not going to be back. … I hope eventually we’re going to see him on a basketball court. But I do not think he’s going to be back next year.”


Lonzo Ball has not played since the 2021-22 season. In 35 starts, the Bulls guard averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. The UCLA product also shot 42.3% from the field and 3-point range.

In Chicago’s 128-112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 22, 2021, Ball recorded a triple-double. The California native amassed 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in 35 minutes of action.

A lingering left knee injury has kept Ball out of the lineup since January 2022. The Bulls guard had a cartilage transplant in March, his third operation on the knee in more than a year.

In January 2022, Ball underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and was expected to remain out 6-8 weeks. However, he then had an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee last September and missed the start of the 2022-23 season. In mid-February 2023, the Bulls officially ruled Ball out for the season.

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