Lonzo Ball has a torn meniscus in his left knee, but the Los Angeles Lakers point guard is expected to be ready for the start of the season, sources said.
Sources consider Ball’s injury to be minor. Yahoo Sports first reported the meniscus tear.
ESPN reported on June 11 that Ball had a platelet-rich plasma shot earlier this offseason to treat and strengthen his left knee. Ball has tried different recovery options like the PRP shot and staying off the knee for about a month after the season to let it heal after he sat out the final eight games of the regular season with what was termed a left knee contusion.
Ball told ESPN earlier in the month that the PRP shot worked, that his knee “feels good now” and that he had just returned to basketball-related activities on the court after spending time in the weight room trying to add muscle while staying off the knee. Ball also has been spending time watching film with Magic Johnson, the team’s president of basketball operations, and GM Rob Pelinka.
“I’ve really seen Lonzo emerge as a young man this offseason,” Pelinka said last week after the Lakers draft. “He’ll come up to the office and come in and sit down and have a direct conversation about his goals, what he wants to do, the trainers he wants to work with. The things in his game he wants to work on.
“He really designed his own workout plan this summer. It wasn’t, ‘Hey Lonzo, we need you to do X, Y, Z. He came to us and said I’d really like to do this, what do you guys think? He came to Magic and said I’d like to start watching film with you once a week just to learn. Magic, myself and Lonzo have once a week for an hour doing sessions and with [Kyle Kuzma], with [Brandon Ingram], with [Josh Hart] to see these guys start opting into greatness, regardless of what happens this summer that in itself is just a huge thing for us.”