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Jamal Collier, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from season-ending surgery on his right foot and expects to be healthy for the start of next season.
LaVine met the Bulls in Los Angeles, where he lives and has been rehabbing, for Saturday’s 112-102 loss to the Clippers. He detailed the reasoning behind his decision to have surgery in February, saying he had a floating bone in his foot for months. The Bulls had made it a point to include in a news release that the decision to have the procedure was made by LaVine and his agency, Klutch Sports Group.
“You never want to have surgery,” LaVine 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.”
LaVine’s 2023-24 season ended after he played in just 25 games, disjointed by a pair of injuries to his right foot. He initially was injured Nov. 28 during a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, when he scored two points in 24 minutes and exited with right foot inflammation.
He missed 17 games with the injury before returning on Jan. 5, coming off the bench for the first two games to ease back into the rotation. However, LaVine sprained his ankle about two weeks later on Jan. 18, an absence that extended when the discomfort in his foot was not improving.
He averaged 19.5 points on 45.2% shooting, his lowest scoring total since he played 24 games coming off ACL surgery in 2017-18, his first season in Chicago.
LaVine had been the subject of trade rumors through the first half of the season, especially after he voiced his frustration with the team during a 5-14 start to the year. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that there had been “no market” for LaVine prior to the deadline and his injury made the point moot. Chicago’s trade deadline passed without a move for the third consecutive season.
LaVine, who signed a five-year, $215 million max contract in July 2022, said he has not had much contact with the team regarding trade rumors or his future.
“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.”
LaVine was joined on the sideline by Lonzo Ball, who has not played since January 2022 because of knee injuries. Ball also rehabs in Los Angeles and coach Billy Donovan offered an optimistic update on his status, saying Ball has started running, cutting and jumping and “looks good moving.”
Donovan said Ball is still working out in controlled environments, and the eventual next steps would be to get him involved in workouts with contact. Ball was ruled out for the entire 2023-24 season before this season started, but Donovan said he was hopeful with the way Ball was progressing that 2024-25 could be in play.
“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,” Donovan said. “That’s going to be the biggest thing. Whenever he gets to that place.”
Saturday’s loss dropped the Bulls to 3-1 on their West Coast road trip. They’re now 31-33 on the season.
“I talk to these guys pretty much every day, every game,” LaVine said. “It’s been great, they’ve been winning a lot of games, a lot of games that come down to the wire.”