As expected, Lonzo Ball has chosen to exercise his $21.5 million player option with the Chicago Bulls for the next NBA season. Ball has missed the last two seasons due to complications from multiple knee surgeries. This move marks the final year of his four-year, $80 million contract that was part of a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans that brought him to Chicago. Ball played 35 games for the Bulls during the 2021-22 season before undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. What was initially expected to be a minor procedure to prepare him for the playoffs instead led to persistent knee pain, preventing him from returning to the court since then.
