Lakers Rumors: Lonzo Ball to be held out remainder of the season

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve point guard Lonzo Ball, who will reportedly be shut down for the remainder of the season.

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors have not been positive. The team has suffered through a ton of injuries this season and they have really begun piling up in recent weeks.

Forward Brandon Ingram will miss the remainder of the season because of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT). That is a scary situation, as Ingram’s basketball career is now clouded. It is the same issue that ended Chris Bosh‘s career prematurely.

That was a big blow, and the team has suffered yet another one. Ingram will be joined on the bench for the remainder of the season by Lonzo Ball.

Ball has been dealing with an ankle sprain and bone bruise suffered back on Jan. 19 against the Houston Rockets. The original timetable was put at 4-6 weeks for recovery, but that was before it was revealed that he was also dealing with the bone bruise.

Here we are now, seven weeks later, and the diagnosis hasn’t gotten any better. Ball visited a doctor for a re-evaluation and it was determined that he would be held out for the remainder of the season.

The Lakers seem to have accepted the fact that they will not be making a playoff push this season. They already announced that LeBron James would have his minutes reduced the remainder of the season, so they are waiving the proverbial white flag.

Because of that, the Lakers have no reason to push Ball to return to the court. It would be great to see him playing again, but at this point, the risk is just not worth it.

Without Ball in the lineup, the Lakers defense has crumbled. They have become one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, as their record stands at a putrid 5-13 without him in the lineup. The timing couldn’t have been much worse as Ball was playing the best basketball of his season before the injury occurred.

If there is any positive to the injury for Ball, it is that he will now, seemingly, have a full offseason to work out and improve his game. That is something that Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium discussed as well.

The knee injury robbed Ball of valuable development and practice time during the last offseason. Hopefully, this time around, he will be able to get more work in and really take his game to the next level during his third season in the league.