Lonzo Ball might be out for next season with his career in very real jeopardy, but he would like to make it very clear he can still sit down.
The Chicago Bulls guard hasn’t played in an NBA game since Jan. 2022 and won’t play again until at least 2024 due to recurring issues stemming from a right knee injury. He confirmed he would miss the 2023-24 season on Monday, leading to ESPN’s “First Take” discussing the matter on Tuesday morning.
ESPN star opinion-haver Stephen A. Smith reacted in a very Stephen A. Smith fashion, expressing sympathy for Ball, talking about he didn’t think Ball was as good as Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox when they were 2017 NBA Draft prospects, name-dropping Magic Johnson, lamenting the Bulls’ situation and, crucially, mentioning that he heard Ball still had trouble getting up from a sitting position:
I am not a doctor. I am incredibly, incredibly sad for…