Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine hopes to be fit for the start of the next NBA campaign after his season-ending injury to his right foot.

LaVine, who has not played since mid-January due to an ankle sprain, elected for surgery and will have been out for between four and six months by the time he returns to the court.

The Bulls man joined his teammates in Los Angeles before Saturday's 112-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, who overturned a 14-point deficit for victory.

Speaking on his personal decision for surgery, LaVine insisted the operation was the best way to progress in his rehabilitation.

"You never want to have surgery," he said. "But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, your pain level, this thing isn't going to heal on its own."

Having met up with his Bulls teammates before the Clippers defeat, LaVine sees no issue with settling back into the Chicago group.

"Same way it always has been," he said about the idea of fitting back in with the team. "It's not hard to fit back in, especially with the way I play the game and want to go out there and help."

Lonzo Ball, who has not played since January 2022 because of knee injuries, is also having rehabilitation treatment in Los Angeles.

Chicago coach Billy Donovan suggested Ball is recovering well, saying: "There's a lot of time for where he's at right now to get himself back hopefully where he gets cleared to play 5-on-5 and contact. 

"That's going to be the biggest thing. Whenever he gets to that place."

The Bulls dropped to 31-33 for the season after losing in Los Angeles but LaVine expects Chicago to bounce back.

"I talk to these guys pretty much every day, every game," he added. "It's been great, they've been winning a lot of games, a lot of games that come down to the wire."

The Chicago Bulls have "unfinished business" after missing out on the NBA Playoffs in five of the last six seasons, according to Andre Drummond.

The Bulls were expected to improve on a promising 2021-22 term this time last year, but they finished 40-42 for the regular season before missing out on the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago were beaten by the Miami Heat in April's play-in tournament, bringing a premature end to an inconsistent campaign in which they never once posted a four-game winning streak.

Their woes were compounded by seeing guard Lonzo Ball sit out the entire season with a knee injury which has now required multiple surgeries. Having last taken to the court in January 2022, Ball will also miss the 2023-24 campaign after being forced to undergo a cartilage transplant.

Despite Ball's absence, Drummond believes Chicago can look forward to a more positive time of things this season, having kept a familiar core intact. 

"It's definitely been one of my better offseasons, I feel like I got a lot done," Drummond told Stats Perform. "I got some good insight into what is expected of me, so that's what I worked on this summer.

"With the Bulls I feel like we have some unfinished business, which is one of the reasons why I ended up coming back here to Chicago, picking up my player option. 

"We started off really good at the beginning of last year, and I feel like we let a lot of things slip, some due to injuries and some due to just not really having any real chemistry yet.

"Losing Lonzo, a lot of our decision-making has been spread out throughout our team, for guys that aren't used to doing it.

"I think with a year under our belts now, we know how each other play and we know each other a little bit better, we will be able to really build that chemistry."

In June, two-time All Star Drummond exercised his $3.36million option to remain with the Bulls, who open their season at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

He will again be teaming up with Nikola Vucevic, who signed a three-year, $60m contract extension with Chicago in June, and Drummond is enjoying working with his fellow center.

"The relationship I have with Vuch is unique because he's somebody I've battled against for almost a decade, just playing against this guy year in, year out," Drummond said.

"Then being team-mates with him now and just seeing him on a day-to-day basis, I just really formed a new respect for him, watching how hard he works and how he prepares for each and every game. 

"Being here with him has been a lot of fun. We have two different games, which is why our games work together on the same team. 

"He's more of the outside shooter and I'm more of the brute force down low that gets all the rebounds and does all the dirty work, so our games clash very well."

Vucevic averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds and 3.2 assists while playing in all 82 games throughout 2022-23, also shooting 52 per cent from the field, his highest rate since 2014-15.

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan called Lonzo Ball's road to recovery an "uphill battle" as the 25-year-old went under the knife on Monday for the third procedure on his troublesome left knee.

Ball last played in an NBA game on January 13 last year. The latest update on his situation was that he was failing to make any significant progress, and that this extra procedure – a cartilage transplant – could rule him out until the middle of 2024.

One of the best guard defenders in the league, Ball has a career average of 1.6 steals per game. This season there are only five players – O.G. Anunoby (2.0), Jimmy Butler (1.9), Fred VanVleet (1.7), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1.7) and Herbert Jones (1.7) – averaging a higher figure.

Speaking ahead of Monday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Donovan said while it is a long road ahead, he is confident in Ball's work ethic and motivation to get back to full strength.

"I know he's going to work really hard [on his rehab]," he said. "[The doctors] felt like the surgery went well.

"I do know that Lonzo, just based on the information he was able to gather from different sets of doctors, [was] making the decision that he felt like this was the best chance to be able to get him back on the court. 

"We all understand that that is going to be an uphill battle for him, but I know he's going to do everything possible in his rehab to get himself back on the court.

"He's certainly got a long road to recovery, a long road to get himself at a place where he can get back on the court and playing again. 

"But I am hopeful with his work ethic and his commitment and drive and just how eager he is to play, that he's gonna exhaust every opportunity to do that."

Lonzo Ball will be out "indefinitely" as he prepares to undergo a third surgery on his left knee in 14 months, with the Chicago Bulls reportedly concerned about his chances of resuming his career.

Ball has not played since January 2022, having suffered a knee injury that has already required two operations.

The guard – who is almost two seasons into a four-year, $80million deal in Chicago – was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign last month, stunting hopes of a return this term.

On Thursday, a report from ESPN suggested his upcoming cartilage transplant could rule him out for the entirety of next season, while his team simply said he would be sidelined "indefinitely".

The report added there is growing pressure for Ball's next surgery to offer him a clear pathway towards an eventual return to the court, which may not be assured.

Speaking to the Bulls' website, Ball said: "My main focus has been on returning to the court and getting to a place where I can re-join my team-mates. 

"This has been a frustrating process, but I'm confident these next steps are the best path forward. 

"The support of my family, friends, fans and medical staff throughout my recovery is what keeps me moving forward. I can't wait to get back to what I love doing most – playing basketball."

Ball averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists across 35 games in his first season with the Bulls, who have struggled to a 31-37 record in his absence this campaign, leaving them 12th in the Eastern Conference.

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball will miss the rest of the NBA campaign through injury, with the news coming just a week after it was confirmed his brother will also remain sidelined until next season.

Ball fractured his right ankle during Monday's 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Chicago Bulls star Lonzo Ball has not played at all in 2022-23 due to a knee injury that has required multiple surgeries, and the Bulls said last week that due to continued "discomfort during high-level basketball-related activities", the player would not be risked before the end of the season.

LaMelo – a 2022 NBA All-Star – has had issues with his left ankle throughout the season, meaning he was only able to play 36 games, and The Athletic's Shams Charania tweeted on Tuesday that he will "miss the remainder of the season", according to sources.

The 21-year-old has averaged 23.3 points per game this season, with 8.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds.

The Hornets are well short of playoff contention, with a record of 20-43, though are on a five-game win streak after Monday's win against the only team with a worse record than them in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons.

Lonzo Ball will not return before the end of the NBA season, meaning the Chicago Bulls point guard will have missed the entire 2022-23 campaign.

Ball last played in January last year and has since been sidelined by a knee injury that has required multiple surgeries.

Indeed, Ball has played only 35 games since being traded to the Bulls and then signing a four-year, $85million contract in August 2021.

The Bulls have struggled in his absence this season, down in 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 26-33 record, and the team have told the 25-year-old to now focus on next year.

"Despite making significant increases in strength and function over the past several months, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball continues to experience performance-limiting discomfort during participation in high-level basketball-related activities," said Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations.

"Considering the required time period to achieve the necessary level of fitness to return to play and the current stage of the NBA season, Ball will not return this season.

"The focus for Ball will continue to be on the resolution of his discomfort and a full return for the 2023-24 season."

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan is optimistic Lonzo Ball's latest knee surgery will address his ongoing discomfort but refused to put a timeframe on his return.

Bulls guard Ball on Wednesday underwent a second arthroscopic surgery on the knee which has seen him sidelined since January.

Ball revealed on Tuesday that he is still unable to run or jump due to the pain in his left knee.

Donovan said Ball's operation "went well", although he was cautious to commit to any timeline on a return to practice or playing.

"You always try to stay optimistic that this will get resolved and he'll be fine," he said.

"But until he gets back and gets into the situations that were causing him pain, to see how he responds in being back in those situations, we'll find out more.

"I don't know how long it will take before he can actually start the rehab process."

Prior to Wednesday's procedure, the Bulls had announced they would re-evaluate Ball's status in four to six weeks, meaning he is unlikely to play in the NBA until November at the earliest, given he has not played since January 14.

"You've also got a player that's been out for nine months," Donovan said. "It's not like in three weeks, the surgery is a success, you can just throw him back out there and play.

"We haven't even gotten to the point if this all goes well with the rhythm, timing, the flow, catching up.

"He's had no competitive play since [January]. So that's a whole other scenario of when he could actually get back."

The Bulls are due to open their NBA campaign against the Miami Heat on October 19.

Ball, who was taken with the second pick overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, moved to the Bulls from the New Orleans Pelicans in August last year, averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists across 35 games in the 2021-22 season.

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is still unable to run or jump without pain in his surgically repaired left knee and will undergo a second arthroscopic surgery, ESPN reported Tuesday.  

His discomfort remains nearly 10 months on from his initial injury back in January, with Ball telling the media it is nothing like he has ever experienced before. The operation is scheduled for Wednesday.  

"There was a point where we would warm up and stuff, and I would go through certain days and it would be fine," Ball told reporters Tuesday. "Then whenever I got to real basketball activities, I just couldn't do it.  

"Unfortunately, this is what's at hand and has to be dealt with. We feel like surgery, again, is the best option." 

The Bulls said that they will reevaluate Ball in four to six weeks, but neither the team nor Ball himself was willing to put a timeline on the point guard’s return from a third career surgery on his left knee.  

"For me, this will be my third surgery, so this time around I really don't want to rush anything," Ball said.  

Ball’s continued pain and stunted recovery have been both a surprise and a mystery to his medical team as he continues to struggle with some day-to-day activities, including walking up stairs.  

"From my understanding they're going in there to see what it is, because it's not necessarily showing up on the MRI," Ball said. "It's clear that there's something there that's not right, so they're going to go in, look at it, and whatever needs to be done is going to be done. 

"I've never felt pain like this or was able to ramp up a little bit but never fully, so definitely a unique situation. The doctors and the Bulls, we're all trying to figure out what it is." 

Despite the considerable setback, Ball does not believe the injury will sideline him for the entire season.  

"That's not in my mind right now, but that would be the worst-case scenario," Ball said. "I'm at a point now where I know I can't get back out there until I'm comfortable playing and can actually play. So whenever that day comes, that's when I'll have the jersey back on." 

The news comes as the Bulls practiced for the first time in preparation for the 2022-23 season. Chicago hopes to improve on last season when they started hot but ended up as the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed and losing their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. 

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the team announced on Wednesday.

Ball, 24, last played in January before he tore his meniscus, and at the time he was given a six-to-eight week recovery time, but the pain persisted and kept him out of the final months of the season.

The former second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft was in the midst of a career-best shooting season with the Bulls, with his 42.3 per cent shooting from beyond the arc on 7.4 attempts per game marking the first time he has ever posted a three-point percentage above 37.8.

He was also averaging 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and was one of the best defensive guards in the league, tallying 1.8 steals per game.

The Bulls are scheduled to kick off their season on October 19 against the Miami Heat, so his current injury timeline makes it incredibly unlikely that he will be ready for the start of the season, with November a more realistic target.

Ball is entering the second year of a four-year, $80million contract, with the fourth year being a player option that Ball can decide to void if he feels he can secure a larger long-term deal.

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has been ruled out for the rest of the NBA season as he recovers from knee surgery.

The 24-year-old underwent an operation on his left knee in Los Angeles on January 28.

Chicago on Wednesday stated that Ball "continues to experience pain with high-level physical activity" and will not play again this season.

Ball will undergo treatment and rehabilitation on a daily basis to ensure he is ready for the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

The former Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans player was expected to return in six to eight weeks after going under the knife over two months ago.

He averaged 13 points, 5.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds for the Bulls this season.

The Bulls are sixth in the Eastern Conference and guaranteed a playoff place despite losing back-to-back games against the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lonzo Ball's recovery from a left knee injury will be slowed with Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan revealing they will "pull back" on the guard's rehabilitation process.

Ball, who is averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season, has not played since January 14 when he sustained a slight meniscus tear, which required arthroscopic surgery.

The Bulls have been without Alex Caruso in recent weeks too, coinciding with their slide down the Eastern Conference standings to fifth with a 42-29 record.

Donovan said the Bulls would pause Ball's recovery for 10 days, taking him up to April 1, leaving only five regular-season games for him to return prior to the playoffs.

"The feeling was, let's really pull back on what he's doing and let's let him, I don't want to use the word rest because it's not like he's sitting around doing nothing – he'll do strength training and those kind of things – but take a break on the running and trying to ramp him up," Donovan told reporters prior to Monday's 113-99 win over the Toronto Raptors.

He added: "We'll have a better feel of that once they get through this next 10 days. Obviously, it's coming to the end of the season.

"I think that they felt like, OK if he can, over this 10-day period, really get back to the ramp-up period, because he has been out for quite some time, that would enable him to get back into contact relatively soon.

"But we can't even get him into that until he gets over that hump, so I don't want to speculate what may or may not happen after 10 days."

Lonzo Ball will be out for up to eight weeks after he undergoes knee surgery this week, the Chicago Bulls announced on Thursday. 

After sitting out the past three games, the decision has been made for Ball to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee – reportedly to repair a torn meniscus. 

A statement from the Bulls read: "Following an initial period of rest and targeted intervention, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is expected to return in 6-8 weeks." 

Ball is averaging 13 points, 5.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls this season. 

Chicago were 6-2 in the eight games Ball has missed this campaign, all of which have come since Boxing Day. 

The Bulls ended a four-game losing streak against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday and take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. 

Lonzo Ball joined the long list of Chicago Bulls players to enter the NBA's health and safety protocols ahead of Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers.

Ball will not face the Pacers and the guard faces at least 10 days out of action unless he records two negative COVID-19 tests.

The 24-year-old is the 13th man on the Bulls roster to enter the protocols this month.

Three of Chicago's matches have been postponed in December due to the squad being so severely depleted.

Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan have since been given the green light to return, while Ayo Dosunmu, Matt Thomas, Alize Johnson, Devon Dotson, Coby White and Javonte Green have also cleared protocols.

Tony Bradley, Alfonzo McKinnie, coach Billy Donovan and now Ball are absent.

Stephen Curry had a wayward shooting game but moved closer to Ray Allen's all-time record as the Golden State Warriors were humbled 102-93 by the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

Joel Embiid scored a game-high 26 points along with nine rebounds and four assists for the 76ers, who ended the game with a 41-20 run to improve their record to 15-12.

Curry, who started the game 10 triples away from Allen's all-time NBA record for most three-point attempts made, finished with 18 points including three triples.

As a result, two-time MVP Curry is seven three-pointers away from breaking Allen's mark of 2,973 career triples.

Curry drained two three-pointers late in the second quarter but did not add to his tally until the fourth quarter, shooting a disappointing three-of-14 from beyond the arc. The guard finished the game shooting 30 percent from the field.

Jokic stars but triple-double run ends

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic's run of three straight triple-doubles ended but he still managed a double-double with 35 points and 17 rebounds in the Denver Nuggets' 127-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Reggie Jackson hit a late two-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the Orlando Magic 106-104, finishing the game with 25 points in Paul George's absence.

The Utah Jazz extended their winning streak to seven games as Donovan Mitchell had 28 points with Ruby Gobert grabbing another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in their 123-98 win over the Washington Wizards.

Turnovers cost Bulls vs Heat

Point guard Lonzo Ball committed five turnovers and only managed 15 points as the Chicago Bulls lost 118-92 to the Miami Heat. Zach LaVine was also guilty of four turnovers, although he finished with 33 points including seven three-pointers.

The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls lost draft picks for early free-agent discussions that led to recruiting Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball respectively, the NBA announced on Wednesday.

Lowry swapped the Toronto Raptors for the Heat, who acquired the NBA champion in a sign-and-trade three-year, $85million deal that sent Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa the other way.

Ball – a restricted free agent – was traded to the Bulls by the New Orleans Pelicans on a four-year, $80m contract for Garrett Temple and Toms Satoransky.

The NBA investigated the moves and punished the Heat and Bulls with the loss of second-round drafts picks because of premature discussions.

Miami and Chicago were found to have violated league rules governing the timing of this season's free-agency discussions.

"While we disagree, we accept the league's decision," the Heat said in a statement.

The Bulls added: "We are glad this process has concluded and look forward to the rest of our season."

In his first season with the Heat (13-8), six-time All-Star Lowry has been averaging 12.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game, while shooting at 42.6 per cent and 31.0 from the three-point range.

Ball has starred for the new-look Bulls (14-8) in 2021-22, averaging 12.5 points, 4.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game – he has been shooting a career-high 42.6 per cent from the floor and a career-best 44.4 per cent from beyond the arc.