Bulls will take cautious approach with guard Lonzo Ball — ready or not

Ball said on Monday that he would be all for simply being dropped into a playoff series if it does take him that long to return from a second left knee surgery. Coach Billy Donovan, however, all but ruled that scenario out, as the organization will play the long game with the point guard.

SHARE Bulls will take cautious approach with guard Lonzo Ball — ready or not
The Bulls are remaining cautious with injured guard Lonzo Ball.

The Bulls are remaining cautious with injured guard Lonzo Ball.

Tim Heitman/AP

PARIS — The cool morning weather made the team photo shoot at the Eiffel Tower a bit unpleasant.

There was a bright side to the scene, however: Injured point guard Lonzo Ball was included.

But that photo might be as close as he gets to being in the picture this season.

After Ball did a rare media interview Monday in which he took an optimistic approach to returning at some point this season, Bulls coach Billy Donovan was much more guarded and insisted that the idea of just dropping him into the playoffs — if that’s when he’s ready — was really not on the table.

“No, without him being able to have some kind of . . . I don’t think we’re talking about five days,’’ Donovan said. “I think this is going to be weeks for him to get himself back. And then it’s going to be, ‘OK, he had a hard workout and got up and down. Can he come back and do it the next day?’ Or is it, ‘He’s had three really good days, but he needs a day off.’ All those things are going to have to be managed because nobody really knows outside of his rehab and him and the medical, what does this look like during contact? And how does he feel the next day after contact? I think all those things will be variables for his return to play.’’ 

One thing has changed in Ball’s recovery from two left knee surgeries in less than a year: the idea of him starting to be around the team a bit more. If his rehab allows it, the organization wants Ball on more road trips, and it wants to keep him engaged with teammates and practices.

But will the organization and Ball be on the same page when the time comes for him to ramp up contact and start preparing for games? The last scenario the Bulls need is to rush him back for the playoffs, then have setbacks that carry into next season.

Ball’s mindset is that he’s a high-IQ player, so once he’s cleared, he can be thrown in no matter the magnitude of the games — regular season or playoffs.

“Yeah, I mean, I know how to play basketball, so it’s really just about me being comfortable enough to get out there and feel safe, and once I get back to that point, I’ll be back in the gym,’’ Ball said.

Sleepwalkers

Because the Bulls took a red-eye to Paris on Sunday and were still trying to get used to the time change, Donovan was doing his best to make sure everyone was on a better schedule as Thursday’s Paris Game against the Pistons was approaching.

“I just look at what I’ve been through, and I’m not even playing,’’ Donovan said. “I was up [Tuesday] at 3:30 or 4 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. There is a seven-hour time change and red-eye flight that you’re dealing with. I would sit there and say it would be hard to categorize everybody in the same boat. But I’m sure there are some guys that it’s been challenging for, physically and with their sleep. It is so different.’’

Full-go

Forward DeMar DeRozan was a full participant in practice Wednesday. Unless there was a setback with his right quadriceps in the next 24 hours, he was expected to return to the starting lineup after missing the last three games.

“He went through everything Wednesday,’’ Donovan said. “A lot of it will depend on how he responds off [the practice] because we competed and scrimmaged and went up and down, and that’s the first time we’ve been able to see him do that.’’

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