The Chicago Bulls, by all accounts, have had an uninspiring 2022-23 campaign. They have weathered plenty of rumored in-fighting and trade rumors on their way to a 31-37 record at the time of writing. To make matters worse, the Bulls' future outlook, which didn't look too promising to begin with, had only gotten bleaker since, after Lonzo Ball underwent his third knee surgery over the past 14 months to help address his injury woes for good.
Nonetheless, while Ball's injury should leave the Bulls' backcourt depleted for the foreseeable future (the surgery would keep Ball out for the majority, if not all of the 2023-24 season), DeMar DeRozan knows that this kind of serious career roadblock has a far greater impact off the court than on it.
“All I care about is his well-being. It’s bigger than basketball… He’s a helluva dude,” DeRozan said, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
This is not the first time that the Bulls All-Star has commented on the impact of Lonzo Ball's absence. Back in April 2022, DeRozan also outlined Ball's impact on the court beyond his ability to play defense and hit threes at a high level, making him such an ideal complementary piece to the Bulls' more ball-dominant stars.
“Man, the excitement that he brings. He brings a different type of swagger to us when he plays. I’m pretty sure you can pinpoint that when he’s out there,” DeRozan said then.
The Bulls appeared to be on the up-and-up following a successful 2021 offseason that brought the likes of DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball to the Windy City, giving Zach LaVine his most talented supporting cast as a Bull yet.
As a result, the Bulls made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2017. However, what looked like a team ready to bulldoze any and all opposition had its horns cut off after they lost Ball to a knee injury in January 2022. At first, there was optimism that the meniscus tear Ball suffered wouldn't keep him out for too long. Alas, his left knee couldn't quite recover even after two surgeries.
At the end of the day, include DeMar DeRozan among the overwhelming majority of those who wish Lonzo Ball as speedy a recovery as possible.
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