Bulls guard Lonzo Ball optimistic for a return this season, but he’s also realistic

PARIS — Bulls guard Lonzo Ball stood just off the basketball court at the Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan on Monday and talked about his future — both immediate and in the long term.

Ball would have liked to give more details about the rehab of his surgically repaired left knee. He would have been all for giving a definitive timetable for a return. Heck, in a perfect world, he wouldn’t have been conducting an interview to the side of the court but would have been practicing on it with his teammates minutes before.

But Ball can’t operate in that space just yet.

‘‘Yeah, I would love to play,’’ Ball said when he was asked if a return this season seemed plausible. ‘‘I would never count that out. It’s a long year, and I feel like we’re hitting our stride right now. So hopefully I can keep getting better, the team will keep getting better and we can meet up.’’

It wasn’t the first time Ball had spoken with the media this season, but it was the first time he had done so since posting videos on his Instagram account last week. Those videos showed him running on a treadmill, dunking, doing some obstacle drills and boxing.

Those are all great signs for a 25-year-old who has undergone three surgeries on his left knee, including two in the last year. But there’s reality, too.

‘‘Obviously, I want to play; that’s the goal,’’ Ball said. ‘‘Once I feel I’m comfortable enough playing — whether it’s 70, 80, 90, 100% — then I’ll be out there.’’

It’s that comfort he seeks.

Ball admitted the knee is still sore at times and expressed real concern that he will run out of runway for a return this season, considering it’s already mid-January and he hasn’t played in an NBA game in just more than a year.

‘‘I mean, yeah, everything is on a time schedule, but I’m trying to stay positive, keep my hopes up,’’ he said when he was asked if he could run short on time for returning this season.

One road he wouldn’t even explore was the idea that his knee issue might be career-threatening.

‘‘Nah, I don’t have any concern,’’ Ball said. ‘‘I just think it’s time-consuming. I’m only 25, so I’m not too worried about it.’’

Not that this has been easy for Ball. As the Bulls prepared for their game Thursday against the Pistons and received news that forward DeMar DeRozan (strained right quadriceps) is set to return this week, Ball has been limited to sitting around and watching practices, shootarounds and workouts, knowing his strengths have proved to be major weaknesses for the Bulls without him.

There’s a reason the Bulls have underachieved at 20-24 this season.

‘‘I think [executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas] and [general manager] Marc [Eversley] had a good idea of what they wanted the team to look like, and that’s why they brought me in to do what I was supposed to do,’’ Ball said. ‘‘Obviously, I’m out right now, and that’s the missing piece of the team.

‘‘I mean, it’s the longest I’ve ever been out. I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, so for me it’s a lot, especially just watching the guys every night and watching them go on planes and come back and stuff. I’m always just watching practice, I feel like. I’ve just got to stay positive and do what I can to get on the court.’’