4. Lonzo Ball‘s recovery from knee surgery
In July, Lonzo Ball had a minor surgery on his knee. It was the same knee that had him miss games during multiple times during the season. The release of the information was interesting, as it was rumored that Lonzo’s camp may have released the info of the surgery to fend off Lonzo being desired in a trade at the time for Kawhi Leonard.
It’s uncertain whether or not that was the intention or if Lonzo was even being sought after by the San Antonio Spurs in a potential trade. What matters now is whether Lonzo will be fully available for training camp, preseason, or the beginning of the regular season.
When the surgery was first announced it was followed by a statement that Lonzo would more than likely be available for training camp.
The Lakers social media team has been sharing videos of the team scrimmaging at the practice facility, with players like Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, and JaVale McGee all trying to get a feel for each other’s games. Lonzo has mostly been absent from any of those videos, only appearing in one which appeared to be some individual, non-contact work with some of the trainers.
It is now being reported that Lonzo won’t be participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages once camp kicks off, but will be eased in with some 1-on-1 work. Luke Walton gave this update and stated that the Lakers just want to be cautious with him.
I’m sure Lonzo will get more questions about his knee directed to him during the media day either way. It’ll also be a question presented to Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka in their press conference on the 20th, so maybe they can take some more pressure off Lonzo on media day to allow him to enjoy the fun day.